Mystic Wonder (Rewrite)
by MandalorianHybrid
Summary: Alice didn't tumble through the Looking Glass alone. Alongside her best friend, Alice searches for the man she loves, but secret after secret makes her wonder about her own sanity. No one is who they seem to be, and even if she manages her Happily Ever After, it doesn't feel like Wonderland is done with her.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** This is a rewrite of an existing story. While, in the barest of sense, it is still more or less the same, I've elaborated on a lot and changed some details. Really, I've just made it a better version of the story it used to be. I'll be uploading once a day or two to get it up to where the story previously was before I deleted the chapters, so I hope you enjoy it. Let me know!

 **Chapter I**

Bearing a wide smile, Miranda knocked on a familiar door. She was excited, and hadn't calmed down since Alice called her earlier in the day. It was time to meet the boyfriend, apparently, and Randy was overjoyed.

Alice and Jack had been dating for a couple of months. It was relatively serious, as serious as Alice would let it be, and the relationship had finally moved onto the next level: meeting family and friends. If Alice was introducing the mysterious Mr. Chase to her and Carol, Alice's mother, things must have been getting v _ery_ serious.

The door to the apartment slid open after Randy banged another trio of excited knocks against its metal surface. An older woman with dark hair and a smirk opened it. She looked over Miranda and arched a brow.

"Hello, Randy." She said coolly, still grinning a little. "Did you hurt your hand on my door?"

Randy felt a small flush of heat in her cheeks and knew she was close to blushing. "Hi, Mrs. Hamilton. Alice here?"

Carol stepped aside and said that her daughter was in the bathroom. Randy quickly darted through the familiar floor plan to find her.

Randy and Alice had been friends for ten years, which wouldn't seem like a long time if Alice hadn't only turned twenty a few months prior. They'd known one another for, what to them was, a substantial amount of time.

Miranda finally made it to the bathroom where she found Alice standing in front of the large mirror fussing with her hair. She was so lost in her actions that she didn't realize the incredibly odd faces she was making were no longer private. Randy grinned as she watched.

Throughout their friendship, people used to tell them that they looked like sisters. Randy could never see it, but people told them, _you two just look so similar._ Again, Randy didn't know why. Was it because they both had brown hair? Well, so did more than seventy-five percent of the population.

Miranda had dark brown eyes, while Alice's were an incredibly bright blue. Miranda's skin was sun-kissed and tanned, while Alice was as fair as humanly possible. Alice had dimples, Miranda didn't. Alice was short, Miranda wasn't.

It might have been a few small things, but enough small things tended to added up. Randy just couldn't see why people thought they were sisters. Then again, they'd spent so much time with each other growing up that maybe everyone simply assumed.

"Hi!" Randy chimed loudly.

"Oh, God!" Alice jumped and practically shouted the words. Randy had terrified her, and as cruel as it might sound, that was the point. "Why did you do that?!" Alice spun around and slapped Randy hard in the arm. "Jesus, where did you even come from?"

"Ah, the age old question. _Where do we come from? Where are we going?_ " She teased. Alice rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the mirror. "You look _nice_." Randy sang the word which brought out a brilliant red hue to Alice's cheeks. She'd gone with a pale blue dress for the evening, tights, and boots.

"Oh, come on, Randy." Alice moaned slightly. She looked over Miranda's wardrobe through the mirror and her face fell. "I thought you were going to dress up?"

"Hey, I _did_ dress up." Miranda tugged lightly on her shirt. "This is my best t-shirt."

Alice grumbled, but the smile was there. Sure, perhaps Randy should have tried a bit harder, but Jack wasn't her boyfriend to impress. She knew she could get away with jeans, a t-shirt, and flip-flops. Although, if she were being entirely honest, Miranda knew she shouldn't have worn flip-flops.

Randy helped Alice finish up her hair, and about ten minutes later Jack arrived. Miranda was on her best behavior around Mr. Tall-and-Strapping, but wasn't above miming, _oh my god_ or giving Alice a thumbs up when the man's back was turned.

When the meal had finished, Carol and Randy decided to give the pair a moment to themselves. They pretended to linger in the kitchen doing dishes, but Miranda highly doubted that _anyone_ was fooled.

Roughly ten minutes later and without warning, a door slammed. It caused Randy to jump. She shot Carol a glance and noticed the same apprehension she felt mirrored on the matriarch's face. Miranda grabbed a dishtowel and began to wipe her hands off.

"I'll go check it out."

Carol nodded. Randy left the kitchen and tentatively made her way down the hall. She found Alice leaning back on the couch, twiddling her thumbs as she stared into space. Something was wrong. She could see Alice's… was it heartbreak? She couldn't tell, but Alice was definitely hurt.

"Hey," Randy kept her voice light. Alice glanced up. "What happened?"

"He proposed to me." She said.

Randy, who'd made it to the chairs across from the couch, paused. She raised a single brow as her mind did her best to accept the blunt, random phrase.

"He did?"

Alice nodded heavily. "Had a ring and everything."

"Oh, wow…"

Randy fell easily into one of the chairs and let Alice relay the short conversation that she and Jack had just before he left.

"It was like a switch flipped. He was suddenly kind of erratic and he kept telling me that I needed to go with him." She looked up at Randy with a confused expression. "I liked him so much. What happened?"

"Nothing," Randy said softly. "Look, you had a weird… was it even a fight?" Alice shrugged. "Well, all you need to do is just talk about it when he's calmed down. It'll be fine."

"I don't know." Alice pushed herself up and Randy noticed her expression sour. She quickly began to dig into her pocket and retrieve a small, ornately-carved wooden box. "It's the ring." Randy's brows rose in surprise. "No," Alice pushed herself up. "This isn't going to happen."

And just like that, she stormed out of the apartment leaving Randy with her mouth open. Miranda had tried to stop her, but not even a single syllable had escaped her before Alice was nothing more than a memory.

"What happened?" Carol's voice drew Randy's attention. She seemed a bit worried.

"I'm not completely sure." Randy replied. She stood. "I'll get her."

She saw Carol nod before she left the apartment.

Randy shook her head, a bit annoyed that Alice had decided to launch herself out of the apartment so suddenly. Surely, she could have just called Jack and talked to him. Did she really have to run after him?

Knowing Alice, yes.

Randy jogged downstairs and onto the street. She looked around, but couldn't see Alice anywhere. Something guided her, though, took her to the left. There was a wide alley, one big enough for garbage trucks to ride down on their mission to pick up the dumpsters. It was down that creepy, dark, damp alley that Randy heard Alice's voice.

" _Wait!"_ she heard Alice shout.

A bolt of ice trickled down her spine. Miranda immediately ran after her.

Through the winding twists and turns of an old building, Randy only caught glimpses of Alice. She'd see a flash of blue here, hear a clomp of a boot there. All the while, Alice took her deeper and deeper into a creepy old warehouse.

"Alice!" Randy shouted. She loved her friend dearly, but who in their right mind would run into an abandoned building?

Randy nearly fell when she rounded a corner, her flip-flops threatening to snap as she slid in a puddle. She spotted Alice, finally, racing up a flight of metal stairs.

"Alice!"

The brunette barely glanced over her shoulder while she continued. "They took Jack!" She yelled back.

"Who?!"

"I don't know!"

And then she was at the top and gone. Miranda growled, cursed her friend under her breath, then ran upstairs, too. She went after her. Of course she went after her. What was Miranda going to do, let Alice go on by herself?

Randy ran as fast as she could, determined to close the distance between her and her friend, and ran faster than she ever had before. Her feet hurt, she was breathing heavily, and afraid that Alice might get injured.

Another flash of blue rounding another corner finally met her eye. Miranda again pressed herself as hard as she could and then-

Nothing.

She'd tumbled into Alice and into a mirror –and not in a figurative sense. They went _in to_ the mirror.

The world disappeared and she fell, fell for longer than a person should have been allowed to fall without a parachute on their back. Randy couldn't help but pray for an end to it all, pray for something to catch them. She should have been more careful about what she wished for.

Without warning, the ground came up on her and fast. Miranda slammed into the soft, yet horribly unyielding ground. She groaned. Her body hurt, the wind had been knocked out of her, and her head spun. Somehow, though, Randy managed to get herself to her feet, though with the help of someone else.

"Where are we?" She heard Alice ask.

Miranda's vision began to clear. She looked around and noticed they were standing in what could only be considered an abandoned hospital. That's what it looked like, from the long hall, to the stark walls. But, it looked like a hospital that had been through a hurricane. There was an inch or more of water on the floor, doors blown wide open, and sparking wires dangling from busted lighting fixtures.

"I don't know." Miranda grumbled. She looked at her friend. "What the hell, Alice?"

"What?" She defended weakly. "I was chasing this guy, and-"

Her words dropped off the moment they heard water shuffling in the distance. It drew their attention. Randy saw a man in white with long hair tied behind his head in a pair of pigtails. She didn't recognize him, but apparently Alice did.

"Hey!" She shouted angrily. The man in white ran. Alice took chase without a care as to the live wires in the water.

Randy growled her frustration loudly, but did as she had been thus far –she ran after Alice.

Curled toes were barely enough to keep her flip-flops on, but there was no way Randy was going to risk losing her shoes. She didn't know what in the hell she might step on and didn't feel like having a chunk of metal go right through her foot while she had to run down her stupid friend.

True, flip-flops might not have been able to save her from it, but it was a mental thing. It helped because she believed it'd help.

Randy hated herself for following after Alice as blindly as she was. It made her angry, honestly, because she had no choice. The alternative wasn't thinkable, so when Alice ran out into the real world, Randy followed. When Alice ran along dangerously narrow walkways untold stories above the ground, Randy followed. When Alice nearly barreled into another building without bothering to look to where she was going… Randy finally stopped her.

Having had enough long ago, sore, her feet aching and a rock currently digging into the arch of her foot, Randy finally put an end to the whole ordeal. She grabbed Alice and forced her to stop before she would have disappeared into a building with a white rabbit on the door.

"Alice, stop." Randy snapped.

"Let go!" She ripped her arm out of Randy's grasp. "They have Jack. I saw him. They were dragging him in here." Her expression softened and her brows furrowed. "I have to save him." She said almost desperately. "I can't let _that_ be our last conversation."

The look of sadness on her friend's face broke Randy's heart. She hated that it made her want to give in.

"Fine, just," She took a breath and let it out harshly. She just wasn't in the mood for any more surprises. "Just let me look first, okay? We don't know what's on the other side of the door."

"Fine," She grumbled. Alice didn't sound happy with the prospect, but at least she was willing.

Randy gave her a sharp, determined nod before she gave her full attention to the door. As slowly and quietly as possible, she opened the door. The hinges creaked and the sound echoed loudly in the empty halls. She grimaced and paused, praying that whoever Alice had been chasing didn't hear it. There was nothing.

The floor was dirt, vines crawled up the walls, and there wasn't a soul in sight. Randy's brows pulled together curiously as she stepped fully inside. It made little to no sense. It looked as though nature was in the process of taking over, which would have been fine, if the building looked the same. As it was, it looked as though someone's house plant just decided to go crazy.

As she stepped even deeper into the building, Randy heard Alice hiss behind her. She took in a sharp breath. Randy glanced back through the open doorway. There was a loud churning sound from overhead, the sound of a machine of some kind. It curled Randy's stomach and filled her with a level of dread she hadn't felt in a long time.

Reacting instinctively, Randy grabbed Alice by the arm and jerked her into the hallways where she stood. At the moment, the danger outside was worse than the potential danger inside. Randy slammed the door shut and pressed her back to it. As best as she could, she listened to the sound of whatever was flying overhead until it disappeared.

She breathed easier when it did.

"What the hell?" Alice mumbled.

Randy looked over and noticed Alice was in the middle of trying to wipe something green off her arm. Curiously, Miranda gently took Alice's hand so she could better inspect the mark. It was a deep forest green, a paisley design that would have been pretty any other day. Unfortunately, it looked like it was branded into her skin. Randy ran her hand over it just to help confirm the theory.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I don't know." Alice replied. "It just appeared out of nowhere when that thing shined its light."

"Jesus," She mumbled.

"It doesn't matter." Alice took her arm back and finally looked around. "What is this place?"

"I don't know. All of these buildings look like old hospitals or something."

Alice nodded her agreement before she spotted something at the end of the hall. The curious way she tilted her head caused Randy to glance over her shoulder. There was a white room, almost blindingly bright resting there, as though it was presented to them. Miranda's eyes narrowed.

Without waiting for her friend, Alice headed for it. Miranda was slower to follow. She kept her eyes on their surroundings, darting from one place to another, down halls and into rooms. There was a prickle at the back of her neck, a prickle that told her something was bad was going to happen.

Alice entered the small room and approached the table in the middle of it. Out of the corner of her eye, Miranda noticed Alice pick up a small clear vial of something.

"Curiosity," Alice read out loud, drawing Miranda even closer. "Killed the cat."

Alice dropped the vial and shot back. Unfortunately, that made her step deeper into the box. The prickle was getting worse. Miranda knew that they had to get out of there as quickly as possible. No sooner than she set foot inside the creepy white room did a door slam shut behind her.

The sudden movement and sound of a door banging closed terrified her. Randy fell back, tumbled over the small table and took it to the ground. Alice had pushed herself far into the corner to avoid the flailing mass that Randy had become.

Alice charged the padded wall that the door truly was, but it didn't budge. Randy shot to her feet and repeated the action on any of the three other walls, but as with the first, they didn't even jiggle.

Without warning, another wall slammed into place cutting Randy and Alice off from the table and dividing their space in half easily. Alice grabbed Miranda, clutched at her clothing to hold her close. Randy did the same. The two held one another tightly out of fear and a desperate need to feel safe. Suddenly the ceiling dropped, forcing them onto their backside. And then another wall charged forward.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Alice cried out as she tried to brace her legs against it. "What's going on?!"

A faint buzzing began in Randy's ears. Her breathing became labored and her heart beat at an uncontrollable rate. She was beginning to hyperventilate.

Randy was claustrophobic.

A small, mail-slot-sized hole opened in the wall that had once been the door. Randy's attention shot to it. The man from before, the one she'd caught only brief glimpses of, stared back in at them.

"Oh, good." He grinned. "Two for the price of one."

"Let us out of here!" Randy screamed as she drove her heel violently into the door.

"Ooo, temper, temper." He openly taunted the panic-stricken young woman.

"What the hell is this place?" Alice demanded angrily.

"Shouldn't have followed me, little Oysters." He replied in a sing-song voice.

And that was it. He said nothing more as he backed away from them. Miranda could see him growing smaller and smaller through the slot in the wall.

Randy felt like she was running out of air, like her lungs couldn't decide if they wanted to explode, or implode because they couldn't take in enough oxygen.

When the room shifted and rocked from side to side, Randy slammed her eyes shut. Her fingernails bit angrily into the plush surface that surrounded her. They gouged out some of the leather (?) that had been bolted to it, probably to muffle the screams of the inhabitants.

Her stomach churned. With her eyes shut, Randy could feel her extremities tingle and her body break out into a cold sweat. She was going to faint.

"Hey," Alice's cool voice brought Randy to the moment. "Miranda, hey, look at me." Somehow, she managed to open her eyes. Alice was leaning forward as best she could, offering a small, slightly-reassuring smile. "It's going to be okay, okay?"

Miranda shook her head. "No, it won't be. I can't breathe." She slammed her eyes shut again. "I can't breathe, I can't breathe."

"Hey," Alice cooed again. Randy didn't dare open her eyes, but she felt a hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to get us out of here, okay? I promise." Miranda shook her head repeatedly once again. "I will. Now, just breathe, okay? In, out, in out."

Alice's soft voice and the gentle prompting for Miranda to breathe in a slow cadence helped, but she didn't dare open her eyes, or relent her hold on the walls. Every muscle was so tight they ached, but she couldn't stop.

Unable to see, Randy was forced to listen. She heard Alice poking and prodding, heard something that sounded like metal on metal.

"I think I've found a latch." Alice said in a distracted voice. "Just… give… me… a-"

Falling. Miranda was falling, and screaming.

She caught a brief glimpse of a flying behemoth overhead, a dozen crates, and Alice as she fell through the air. Just as suddenly, Randy was consumed in cold. It engulfed her, wrapped its steely-fingers around her, and clawed at her throat. She was in water.

Miranda, somehow managing to gain any composure at all, scrambled to reach the surface. Finally, after what felt like hours, she managed to break through and took in a long, deep breath. Life poured back into her while she treaded water.

Her name being called forced Randy to turn around. She spotted Alice bobbing in the dark water as well a few yards from her. Alice seemed to see her the same instant.

"Are you alright?"

Miranda couldn't hold it back. "No, I'm not alright!" She shouted angrily. "I have been chasing after you for the last half hour or better, through abandoned buildings, across freaky walkways a thousand feet in the air, through a _mirror_ , and then we get stuck in a box! Now we're in the middle of a lake! Of course I'm not okay!"

Alice winced as Randy's voice became shrill. She wished she had control over her volume, but she couldn't. Randy was still reeling over everything that had happened since she left Alice's apartment.

Eventually, Alice and Miranda had closed the majority of the distance between them until yelling wasn't a necessity.

"Well, I'm sorry, okay?" Alice snapped back. She sounded apologetic, but not enough as far as Randy was concerned. "Look," Alice glanced around and spotted a city in the distance. "We should get back to civilization."

Miranda looked in the same direction and saw just how far away the city truly was. Her stomach sank.

"That has to be a couple miles away."

"Yeah, well, either we swim there, or we can wait for that thing to come back." She paused briefly. "Or wait for something to eat us."

Alice only waited a moment before she started off. Miranda glared angrily at the back of her head. She was furious, but followed Alice –no matter how reluctantly.

When they got back, _if_ they got back, they were going to have a serious talk about their friendship.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

Alice's body hurt after she pulled herself out of the water. She was sore from the long swim. Even though she was in relatively good health (she enjoyed not only judo, but being healthy in general) even she had trouble with the journey. There were brief bouts of good, strong swimming interspersed with moments of kicking while she kept herself on her back, floating a bit lazily. She did everything she could to conserve energy, but the ice-cold water did all it could to steal it.

There was a loud _thwack_ from behind that drew Alice's eye. It was Randy. She'd pulled herself up the ladder that led to the water. Her jeans were soaked so they pulled at her hips and were inches longer than normal. Randy already wore 'long' jeans, but they were suddenly even more so. As a result, they clapped against the concrete with each step.

Randy looked utterly miserable. She was wearing a white AC/DC shirt with faded lettering. Alice had been a little annoyed at first given Miranda was meeting Jack for the first time and it was no different than her normal attire, but now she pitied her. Not only was it old and insubstantial, but now it was transparent. Randy had owned the tee for a long time, and the age was showing through.

Miranda tugged at the fabric so it no longer clung to her body and looked up at Alice. She was furious, too. Her dark brown eyes were practically black. They genuinely made Alice flinch. With hair clinging to her face where it'd escaped from the bun on top of her head, the bright pink of her cold cheeks, and those eyes, Alice was fairly certain her best friend was trying to light her on fire with her gaze.

"I lost my shoes." Randy grumbled.

Sure enough, her feet were entirely bare. It didn't surprise Alice. She'd worn flip-flops. It wouldn't matter how hard someone tried to keep them on their feet, something that insignificant would fall off easily somewhere within the distance they swam. But, the braided piece of leather on her wrist, her necklace, and her silver ring (all things she never removed) had survived.

"Sorry," Alice mumbled. It was a weak apology, but the best she could offer.

Randy opened her mouth to say something else, but Alice saw her gaze drift to something standing behind. Alice spun and noticed a man clad in rubber was standing only a foot or two behind her. Alice jumped and backed away. She joined Miranda's side. The two of them squared themselves on the man with the nets and a knife, wearing a rain slicker and other bits that made him look like a serial killer.

"Yer an Oyster…" He mumbled when he noticed her arm. Alice's brows creased. "Don't need no trouble with Oysters."

The stranger quickly stowed his blade, grabbed a trap (complete with a rat) that she hadn't noticed, and began to scuttle away.

"Wait!" Alice called. To her surprise, he paused. "Look, I-"

Her words caught in her throat when she heard that familiar sound, that scuttling whir from above. Sure enough, one of those massive, beetle-looking ships soared overhead. The stranger pulled Alice further under the shelter. Alice in turn grabbed Randy's arm and brought her along with them. They tucked themselves behind large boxes and crates.

"They see me with an Oyster, we're both dead." He said. As before, he attempted to scurry off, but again she stopped him.

"Please," Alice dug into her pocket and retrieved a wet twenty dollar bill. "I've got money. I'm looking for someone. He was kidnapped, and he's probably in one of those beetle things, so if you help me find him, it's yours."

His aged face was still twisted into a grimace, strips of grey, dirty, matted hair framing it. He snatched the twenty and sniffed it, even going so far as to lick it. Alice's brows creased. She glanced at Randy who shared her confusion.

"Bah," He scoffed and shoved the money back. "Got anythin' else?"

"Uh…" Alice patted her body, but knew immediately that no, she had nothing else. She cast Miranda a worried expression. "Do you?"

Randy did the same. She patted her pockets in search of anything that might help. Alice noticed her pull out a tube of ChapStick before she shoved it back into her front pocket, her apartment keys in her other front pocket, and then her ID and some cash out of the back. It was amazing they hadn't been lost as well.

Alice's heart sank until Randy removed a small knife she always kept on her person. She worked in an organic produce store. As a result, she tended to have a four-inch pocket knife on her most days.

"How about this?" Miranda said. While he watched, she flipped it open. His eyes sparkled. "It small, but sharp. You can keep it in your pocket."

"Oh," He practically cooed the word as he took the object. He looked it over before happily nodding and stowing it. "Okay."

Alice breathed an immediate sigh of relief. She extended her hand, determined to keep the good faith going between them. "I'm Alice."

Her perked again. " _The_ Alice?" The way he asked made her uncomfortable and her hand drop. He was a little too happy. "The Alice of Legend?" She opened her mouth to speak, but words didn't immediately spring forward. Suddenly giddy, he waved at the two, "Come, come." He beckoned.

Alice was unsure of how to proceed given his immense joy when he learned something as simple as her name. Randy seemed to sense as much and a moment later she felt her friend's fingers thread themselves with her. Alice gave Miranda a smile and held her hand tightly before they followed after the man with the rat.

Holding hands, they made their way behind the man who didn't seem to know how to stand upright as he walked. They stayed close, went over stairways and across bridges until they climbed as high as they were supposed to. Behind an old-style English Phone Box, the man in rubber stopped. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and began to wrap it around Alice's arm, covering the mark beneath it.

"No, thank you."

"They see you Oyster, you dead."

"Who?"

"I go first." He said, ignoring her question entirely as he finished tying off the square of fabric. "Count ten, then follow."

"Why? Who's in there?"

"A man who knows!" He called back as he darted off toward the building.

After he raced across a land bridge, he disappeared into a building that looked oddly out of place. The front of it resembled a country home, yet was stuck into the side of a massive structure. A sign flashed above it reading _Tea Shop_ in scrolling text.

Alice took a step forward until something caught her attention. She spotted a bird flying, but it was flying _under_ the bridge she stood on. An instant wave of fear swept through Alice. She collapsed against the phone box and clutched at it tightly. She was paralyzed. Alice was afraid of heights. Randy didn't like small spaces, Alice didn't like heights.

"Hey," Miranda's soft voice caught her attention. She took Alice's hand again and fought the wince at how tightly Alice held it. "I've got you."

Alice nodded repeatedly. She held onto Randy as though her life depended on it because, as far as she was concerned, it did. The desire to close her eyes was strong, but easily ignored. There was no way in hell Alice was going to close her eyes going over that bridge.

Somehow, they made it to the other side and she was finally able to breathe.

"Better?"

Alice forced a smile and nodded. "Yeah. Better."

"Good,"

Alice loosened her grip on Alice's hand to a normal, manageable degree and alongside her, went inside the building.

The sound of shouting guided them to a room that was oddly out of place, yet seemed to make sense given the strange environment they found themselves in. It was rundown like everything else, filled with brambles and dried brush, but there were people. Perhaps a dozen of them littered the space, all of them shouting indecipherable words. Alice suddenly felt like they were standing in the middle of an old-timey stock exchange.

Every once and a while, Alice would hear words like _beauty_ or _confidence_ being shouted from somewhere, but it didn't make any sense. On a shelf to her left, illuminated by a bright white light, she spotted a handful of bottles. Each one held a different color liquid, what couldn't have been more than a few ounces, with names like _lust, excitement,_ and _happiness_ written across them in block letters.

As she walked, she passed two men in the middle of a discussion.

"I'll give ya a half-portion of _hope_ for it." One of them said.

The other, who sat with a bottle of _desire,_ scoffed and shook his head. " _Hope_ was yesterday's Wonder."

"What is this?" Alice muttered.

"I have no idea." Miranda replied.

While she'd been filled with adrenaline initially, Alice had to admit that the sensation was dwindling. The longer she went without finding Jack and the further she found herself moving into this weird, 'other' world, the happier Alice was that Miranda had taken the tumble with her. She might be absolutely furious with Alice when they got home again, but the fact that Randy still stuck by her side meant the world.

A loud thud caused both of them to jump and push themselves a little closer together. The balding, squat little man who'd been behind the podium, once happily sleeping, immediately sprung to life. The same instant, the room fell disturbingly silent.

"I have an important announcement." He said. All attention sharpened on him in an instant. "A new tea has just come on the market."

Then he started his pitch.

"Ever get that guilty feeling," he went on to say. "Maybe you left the wife and kids, abandoned them without so much as a crumb to split between them. Maybe you killed somebody, hm? A neighbor or a family member, and now you've got that niggling feeling that just won't quit."

He continued on for a brief moment, compounding his argument in a few different ways before suddenly changing his tone completely.

"Well, fear no more!" He presented a bottle of, what looked like, water. " _Clear Conscious_ is here from that wonder of wonders, the Harts' Casino!"

And then, suddenly, he fell asleep and the room erupted once more.

"Clear conscious?" Randy asked Alice under her breath. "Seriously?"

"I guess."

Miranda scoffed and shook her head.

As they stood within the middle of the ordeal, a flash caught Alice's attention. The man from before, the one clad in rubber, suddenly appeared once more. He grabbed her arm and pulled her away. Still with a firm grasp on Randy's hand, she was sure her friend came with her.

They were brought deeper into the building and through a few more halls until they are guided to a large, relatively empty room. It was empty in the sense that there was only furniture within it.

There was a large, expansive patch of brilliant green grass that looked like a living carpet. On top, there was an entire office or apartment worth of furniture. Directly in front of her there was a glass and metal desk with clear chairs. In the far left corner there was a transparent wardrobe complete with clothing, boots, and hats. There was a sound system to the right, a pair of white leather chairs within arm's reach of Alice, and a few funky lamps that looked like they belonged in the 70s.

She thought it was a little over the top, but knowing Randy, Alice was fairly certain her friend would rather like it. It was her style, after all.

"Tea?"

The new voice drew Alice's attention to a large chair to her right. Beyond the back she could see the very top of a hat, but not the person.

"Who are you?" She asked. She tried to keep her voice strong, but even Alice heard it quiver just a bit.

The massive chair spun casually revealing a young man. Alice arched a brow. He was attractive and probably not much older than she was. He wore a busily-patterned shirt beneath a yellow-tanned leather jacket with dark corduroy trousers. Bits of chaotic brown hair sprouted out from beneath his okra-colored top hat.

The stranger stared at her with large, chocolate eyes. His round face made him look almost like a child, or surprisingly innocent, which wasn't hampered by the days-old scruff he'd accumulated from not shaving.

"A friend," He replied. "I hope. I run the Tea Shop." His gaze drifted to her left. "What 'bout you?"

There was no response. Alice glanced to her friend and noticed that Miranda had gone completely still. She was blank and motionless, suddenly resembling a statue more than the young woman she used to be. Alice narrowed her eyes curiously. She looked in the direction it seemed Randy was staring and realized she was looking at the guy. He was staring back plainly, but seemed to sense he was being stared at and scowled slightly. He looked at Alice.

"She alright?" He asked with a level of sarcasm that caused Alice to glare at him.

She didn't reply. Instead, she jerked Randy's hand. The sharp action snapped Randy back into reality.

"Hm?" She mumbled. She looked at Alice then back to the stranger.

"Tea," He said a bit slower than before, as though he was worried she was dim. Alice scowled again. "You want tea?"

"No," Miranda replied under her breath.

He nodded slowly, but his derision was clear. Before Alice could remark on it, the man in rubber snatched at her arm and began to untie the handkerchief, forcing her to brandish the green mark. The more attractive young man noticed it. His brows furrowed and with a gentle shove, he glided to his feet. Alice watched him approach his desk.

"How'd you get outta Scarab?"

"That beetle thing?"

"Eh," He made a sound that was probably meant to be something in the affirmative as he spun to face them.

"I picked a lock with a hairpin and-"

"Fell," A small smile curled his lips.

"As you can see, we are drenched."

He gave a soft nod while his gaze drifted over them once more. Alice shifted under the weight of it. It wasn't creepy or unsettling, but inquisitive –a sentiment that grew when he looked at Randy. Alice couldn't help but do the same. Randy hadn't changed, still staring at him without emotion, without a sign that she was entirely certain what was happening around her.

"Look," Alice somehow managed to tear herself away from her friend's curious behavior and looked at the stranger once more. "Where… what is this place?"

"Oh," He chimed in an almost happy voice. "Wonderland."

Alice scoffed a disbelieving sound. She eyed him as though he was a bit off.

"That's a story in a kid's book." She hadn't meant to mock him, but it came out that way.

The stranger's face instantly fell and when he spoke again, his voice no longer held warmth. "Does this look like a kid's story to you?"

Alice shifted on her feet. "No,"

He shoved himself off of his desk and approached casually with a magnifying glass in his hand. He'd retrieved it from the desk.

"It's changed a lot since then." When he was near, he took her arm in his hand. "You Oysters don't know how to find us, so ya tell yerselves we don't exist, and we'd like to keep it that way."

He examined the paisley pattern while he spoke. Alice snatched her arm back.

"Why am I an Oyster? Because of this?"

"That's not gonna come off." He replied before forcing a smile. "Sorry." She scowled. He turned his attention to Randy and glanced her over once before meeting her gaze. "Where's yers then?"

It took her a moment to reply again, but when she did, she cleared he throat to speak. Something was wrong. Alice could tell.

"I was inside." Miranda's voice was still soft, still off.

He gave Alice his attention once more because of the two, she was the one apparently capable of speaking normally.

"Only people from your world get burnt by the light." He went on to explain. "It's the Suits' way of brandin' their catch and," he headed back to the desk to set his magnifying glass down. "They call ya Oysters because of the little pearls ya all got inside you."

"Pearls?"

Apparently no longer willing to remain silent, or desperate for something else entirely, the man in rubber finally spoke up. He declared to the man in the leather jacket that she was Alice.

 _I told you that,_ she thought to herself.

The young man approached once more and circled both her and Randy with a cheeky sort of smile before he joined the fisherman's side.

"Ratty here," He said, "Seems to think you're Alice, of Legend."

"Who?"

"The last time a girl called Alice came here from your world, she brought down the whole house of cards, oh yeah." He spoke in a way that made Alice wonder if he was 'presenting' something to her. What a strange man. "Of course, that was a hundred-and-fifty years ago. Oysters don't even live that long."

"I still want the same price." Ratty said in a shaky voice.

"Whoa, hey, I'm not for s-"

The young man held up his finger to silence her, cast her an amused sort of glance, then scampered off to the other side of the room. Alice didn't know what was happening, nor was she comfortable anymore. She gave Randy her attention.

" _Are you okay?"_ She asked in French.

In high school, the pair decided to take that as their second language because of the romantic undertones. Well, Alice chose it and managed to convince Miranda to do the same. Miranda excelled at it and Alice wasn't too bad. With Randy's help, she got better. They weren't entirely fluent, but they could hold conversations with each other, and if they really were in Wonderland, of all places, Alice highly doubted the strangers knew it, too.

" _I'm fine."_ Randy replied with a forced smile. Alice knew it was a lie.

" _You don't look fine."_ Alice said. She noticed Randy cast a sideways glance at their host. _"What's wrong?"_

" _I don't know."_ She mumbled. _"I just have this feeling. I can't really explain it."_

Alice's brows pulled together. She didn't know how to make things better. Guilt had already taken its hold within her because she'd managed to get Randy pulled into the craziness, but now things were even stranger and they didn't look like they'd go away any time soon.

"I just have to find Jack." Alice whispered. She forced a small smile when Randy looked at her. "We'll go home right after, promise."

Behind her, she heard the rustle of fabric and saw Miranda watch Ratty run off. She turned her eye back to Alice.

"That's assuming there _is_ a way home."

A brief wash of cold charged through Alice. She hadn't thought about that. She'd been so focused on finding Jack that Alice didn't even think about whether or not there was a way for them to somehow get home.

They'd fallen through a mirror and landed in a building. It wasn't as though they could go back the way they'd come.

In French, Alice said, _"It'll be okay."_

"What ya talkin' 'bout?"

The sudden voice and closeness of it caused the two to jump. The young man shot back and looked at them with wide eyes.

"Nothing," Alice lied. "Look, can you just tell us where to find Jack? Then we'll get out of your hair."

The young man, who finally revealed himself to be named Hatter (of course he was the Mad Hatter from the story) went on a tangent about how he could help them personally. He knew people who'd know how to find Jack, apparently, and was willing to introduce Alice and Randy to them. Alice wasn't so sure, but Randy didn't seem overly capable of contributing. The ordinarily outspoken and brave young woman was suddenly a shadow of her former self, and it worried Alice.

That worry, however, disappeared the moment Hatter opened the door that led out. She could see no ground, no floor, and no walkway. Alice only saw height and it terrified her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III**

After giving the one girl a jacket and a pair of shoes for her bare, dirty feet, and handing Alice a jacket of her own, Hatter led the two down the ladder and onto the closest edge. He went down first, closely followed by the statue, then Alice.

When the statue drew near, Hatter grasped her waist gently and helped her the rest of the distance. She glanced at him over her shoulder and nodded. He proceeded to do the same with Alice, but before he had the chance to usher them on, they hit another road block.

"What's the holdup?" He asked.

The one who barely met his eye and hadn't spoken more than two words to him since she'd arrived actually spoke this time. It was enough to surprise Hatter a little.

"She's afraid of heights." The brunette replied before her attention went back to Alice. "Hey," She said softly. Alice managed to look at her. "Come on."

Hatter stood back and watched as the brunette tenderly took her friend's hand and gently pried her away from the ladder. It took some goading, but eventually she managed. He arched a curious brow.

"Why couldn't you people build this city on the ground?" Alice grumbled under her breath.

"We did." He replied, drawing their collective gazes. "It ain't floatin' in the sky. We're jus' really high up."

He watched as color fled Alice's face while her friend glared at him. There was an odd sort of weight to it that forced him to flinch and move back.

"This way, then." He said a bit anxiously as he led the way.

They walked for a good while in silence. Roughly ten minutes or better had passed and he knew they were only half the distance, but Hatter couldn't bring himself to speak to either young woman. There was something strange about the pair.

He thought back to seeing them in his shop. When he'd turned and was presented with the two, he was struck with how pretty they both were. "Pretty" was an odd description. It was a more delicate word to describe someone attractive, but it was appropriate as far as he was concerned.

They both looked delicate, angry and distraught. They were sopping wet. He could see droplets of water drip from the hem of Alice's dress, the tips of her hair, and knew they must have recently fallen into the lake.

Alice was an attractive young woman, inquisitive and had some of the brightest, biggest blue eyes he'd ever seen. He liked her instantly, though he couldn't quite place why. Maybe it was her unyielding determination to find her boyfriend, or that she was an Alice. He'd always wanted to meet an Alice before. It was a very notorious name, and even though she wasn't _the_ Alice, he could lie and say that she was when he retold the story.

The other one, though, he didn't know what to make of her. Hatter hadn't heard a name and one wasn't offered, so he decided to simply call her Statue. That's what she was, after all, a statue.

When his eyes first fell on her, she flinched and it wasn't a minor reaction. To Hatter, it looked like someone had slapped her face. She had the same shocked expression and he didn't know why. He'd never met her. He knew that much. She wasn't familiar in the least, not an Oyster who'd been to Wonderland before, but she looked at him like she'd seen a ghost. It made him uncomfortable because he didn't know the reason for it.

Hatter was grateful Alice was the one who spoke the most. It meant he didn't have to look at Statue. Something else he was appreciative for given her shirt left little to the imagination. The thin fabric was wet, still clinging to her skin and transparent enough he could see the bits of lace beneath. He was glad she took the coat he offered.

He didn't like the way he felt when he looked into her eyes because he didn't know how to classify it. It was a sensation he didn't recognize, or appreciate.

"Hatter,"

He'd been so lost in his own thoughts about finding the path to the secret door that hearing his name made him jump inside. He glanced over his shoulder. It was Statue who spoke.

"Eh," He grunted questioningly.

"Where are all the people?" She asked.

Hatter's steps began to pause until they finally stopped. The coldness took his chest, the feeling of emptiness that he did his best to ignore. Hell, everyone did their best to ignore it. That's why the Tea Shop was so popular. If Wonders weren't so addictive, he'd probably partake, too. As it was, he didn't dare try.

"What ya mean?" He asked, hoping that he had removed enough emotion from his words to pass as normal.

"These buildings are hundreds of stories high," She said. Alice grimaced. "But we've only seen, maybe, twenty people. Where's everyone else?"

He noticed the same question suddenly don on Alice, too. The pair of them looked at him expectantly and Hatter already had the lie waiting on the tip of his tongue, but then he looked at Statue. When he met her plain brown eyes, eyes that were no different than any others, he felt an overwhelming desire to tell the truth wash over him. It was strong enough that he genuinely took a steady step in order to cope.

Whether he wanted to or not, the truth spilled from his lips.

"Scattered," He said. "Anyone who didn't die in the fight, go into hiding, get sent to prison, or get beheaded by the Queen is strung out on Wonders." Hatter's voice was bitter, but he couldn't help it.

Her brows pulled together lightly. "Wasn't there anyone here to help? Soldiers, knights? Anyone?"

He saw a strange desperation reflected back at him. For a brief moment, he wondered why. He told her the truth again, however.

"Gone," His voice was heavy with memory, something he could tell they both noticed. "White Knights were wiped out along with the Healers, Mystics, everyone." He swallowed and his head fell slightly before he managed to meet her gaze again. "Hearts wiped 'em all out."

A deathly, heavy silence filled the space. It weighed down on them, pulled at everyone, he could tell. He hadn't meant to throw so much devastating information at them all at once, but it was the look in Statue's eye. She made him tell the truth. He didn't know how, but she did. He would have gladly lied, if anything to save himself from the memories, but he hadn't.

A flash of anger sparked inside him. It was brief, but powerful enough to wipe away a bit of the coldness that had settled in. Hatter was prepared to tell her to drop it, that it didn't matter, and possibly chastise her for somehow tricking him into telling the story, but when he looked at her again, the words froze in his throat.

Statue was looking down, staring at something on the ground behind him. She was distant as though thinking heavily on what he'd said, but it wasn't the look on her face that made him hesitate. She was crying. Her eyes were tinted pink, glassy, and a single trail of tears had glided down each cheek. His brows creased curiously.

"Randy," Alice said, finally giving a name to Statue. She didn't shift. "Miranda," Alice repeated her name and touched her arm. Statue jumped. "You're crying."

A wave of confusion twisted Randy's features. She reached up and touched her cheeks. It was only then that she seemed to notice it. Apparently, she wasn't even aware she was crying in the first place.

Miranda glanced at him and Alice. She cleared her throat, averted her eyes, and wiped the back of her hand over her cheeks.

"It's nothing," She mumbled.

She was lying. Even if common sense didn't tell him so, Hatter could feel it.

Too much awkwardness had saturated the space and Hatter wanted to put an end to it.

"Come on," He said, turning his back to the pair and guiding them through the buildings.

They followed, once more in an almost suffocating silence.

The row of blue doors finally met his eye and Hatter felt a wave of relief. He counted them off internally and eventually found the one he needed. He slammed his hand into it. Nothing. He did it again and almost an instant later, a slot opened up.

"I'm here to return a library book." Hatter said. He hated their secret phrases. "It's a work of Edwin and Morcar."

"How does the little crocodile improve his shining tail?" The old man asked from the other side.

Hatter grumbled to himself before quickly replying, "He pours water of the Nile on every golden scale."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Alice give Miranda a little smirk, one that seemed to soften Statue just a bit. And then they did something he didn't expect while the door was being unlocked.

"How cheerfully he seems to grin," Alice said with that same smirk

"How neatly spreads his claws," Miranda added.

"And welcomes little fishes in,"

"With gently smiling jaws."

The pair shared a soft giggle until Alice noticed Hatter staring at them with eyes a bit wide. She nudged Randy, drawing her attention to the same. The pair instantly wiped the smiles from their faces and dipped their heads a little in mock shame.

Hatter opened his mouth with the intent of asking how the hell they knew the poem, but he was robbed of the chance when the door finally opened. Duck ushered the trio inside and the instant the door was closed, he lowered the lift.

Alice clung to the railings, firmly planted in her seat while the rickety bus took them floors lower than they'd been. Miranda remained standing nearby. He saw the way she stood over Alice, how protective she seemed to be of her friend. It reeked of a relationship that was years old and very close.

He felt a pang of jealousy. He didn't have anything like that.

The lift finally came to a sharp, abrupt stop. Duck quickly opened the doors once more. Hatter turned to exit, but paused. The two barrels of a sawed-off shotgun greeted him. Stood behind was the nervous and always squirrelly Owl. The sound of a gun cocking behind him told Hatter that Duck would be bringing up the rear.

With a growl under his breath, Hatter, along with the ladies, exited the bus.

"Keep tha' hand where we can see it, Hatter." Owl said, her Scottish brogue thick but delicate.

He let out a loud, obnoxious sigh, but was sure to keep his right hand high. The last thing he needed was for one of the old timers to get trigger happy.

"Just blood and bone." He replied.

She scoffed. "Yeah, righ'. We've all seen what tha' sledgehammer can do."

He clenched his jaw. Hatter wasn't in the mood for this, nor did he want to deal with it in front of a pair of Oysters. It caused him to get a bit snippy.

"Did ya like that box of confects I brought last week? Or the cheese?" His arms slowly fell back to his sides as they lowered their weapons. "If you want to keep it comin', I suggest you calm down."

"Sorry, Hatter." Owl said. "We're all just a bit jumpy."

The pair stepped to the side, leading the way. Hatter tenderly touched Alice's back to silently tell her to walk.

"Everyone's always a bit jumpy." He muttered.

Duck had shifted behind them again at some point. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, but Hatter expected it. He tensed his jaw, but said nothing about it. He didn't want to draw any attention to it, especially since Miranda seemed to be the one who was the least stable of the pair.

"What is all this?" Alice asked when they'd made roughly half the journey.

He explained to her that it was The Great Library. It was filled with all of the recorded knowledge over the last few thousand years. It had everything from artwork to literature.

"Wow," Alice muttered with a level of awe that made him smile a little to himself. He felt pride, even though he had nothing to do with what was hidden within. Perhaps it was just because it was something Wonderland had that Other World didn't. "Can you imagine what's down there, Ran-" Alice abruptly paused. "Randy?"

Her odd, questioning tone caused him to pause. When he turned, Hatter noticed that Miranda had stopped some time ago. She was ten, perhaps twenty feet back, fingers wrapped around the brass banister as she stared down below. Alice slowly joined her side. Hatter already knew what she saw, what they both saw, and it made his heart sink. Whether he wanted to or not, Hatter soon joined their side.

"What is this?" Alice asked sadly.

"Refugees," Hatter replied heavily as he took a stance between them. "People who don't want to buy into the Queen's instant gratification. We do what we can, but…" His voice fell away. Whenever he came to the Library, he did his best to avoid looking down below because it always hurt to see it. "Best we can do is look after 'em."

"It wasn't supposed to be like this."

Randy's voice drew his eye. Her face was filled with sadness. Hatter was fairly certain she wasn't aware she'd spoken out loud. The words seemed to have slipped out.

"Hey," His voice was softer than normal, but it was unavoidable.

When Miranda looked at him, he saw that her eyes had filled with tears once more. They welled and clung to her lashes only a moment before a blink sent them falling down her cheeks. She was crying again, crying over Wonderland's hardships, which was just as odd now as it had been then.

For whatever reason, and he couldn't name one if he tried, he reached forward with every intent of wiping the tears away. The back of his curled index finger was perhaps six inches from touching her cheek when she flinched and recoiled.

"I'm fine." She said under her breath. Like before, he felt the lie. And like before, she quickly wiped them away.

Randy walked around him, separating herself from the situation. Hatter, unsure of what had happened or why he felt compelled to show kindness, cleared his throat and began to walk away. He caught sight of Alice looping her arm with Miranda's, linking their elbows as she brought her friend along.

Shortly after, they were led into Dodo's office.

Why did things always get so contentious so quickly when he had to speak with Dodo? Hatter reasoned that it was because the fat man liked to push his buttons. He thought he was higher on the food chain than he really was. He liked to remind everyone that he's suffered more than them so that made him better.

 _Pompous toad,_ Hatter thought to himself.

And then he said something he never thought he heard, something Hatter thought was impossible. Alice had the Stone of Wonderland.

The impossibility of it clouded his mind and it made him act on reflex. Apparently, a small rock was all it took for Dodo to lose his mind.

"Stop wavin' that gun around, you're scarin' everybody!" He said.

Hatter put himself between Alice and Dodo, but he could see Randy between them. When things got tense, he noticed the brunette slowly pull Alice behind her and begin to guide the young woman toward the door.

Without warning, Hatter felt a cannonball slam into his chest. It took his off his feet and sent him flying into a pile of books. Through the ringing in his ears he heard Miranda yell at Alice to run.

Somehow, he managed to get himself out of the slop. He pushed himself to his feet with his own small caliber weapon drawn. But Dodo didn't budge. The old man was determined, Hatter would give him that, and a .22 wasn't going to stop him.

Hatter thought the bastard was going to tear his shoulder out of the socket. Groaning and reeling with aches that radiated through his body, Hatter eventually got to his feet and charged after him. Dodo would shoot Alice and take the ring off her body. He had no doubt. And then he'd probably shoot Randy too, just to avoid witnesses.

The thought terrified Hatter enough that he managed to intervene.

He leapt at Dodo and took him to the ground. Hatter shouted at Alice to press the blue button, yelling at her that it was the only way to get out of the Library, but she didn't. She wouldn't. Instead, she lingered as though she was waiting for him. Did she think he was going to make him out of there? Ambitious.

Dodo's knee made contact with Hatter's gut. He doubled over, his breath stolen from him. Before his brain could fathom it, Hatter's back hit the floor, Dodo was on him, and with his right hand pinned, Hatter was repeatedly hit in the face.

As the world began to fade into black and Hatter was even closer to unconsciousness, two flashes of something flew into his line of sight. The blue and purple one threw its leg forward, its foot connecting with Dodo's chin. The white and navy one was on the fat man in an instant, long legs on either side while they threw their fist. The blue and purple flash grabbed Hatter and heaved him up.

Alice dragged him along for a second or two before Hatter could get his feet under him.

"Randy, let's go!" Alice called out just as they made it to the lift.

A split second later, the navy and white flash leapt onto the bus. Alice immediately slammed her hand down on the button and they rose into the air.

Still aching beyond words, Hatter, breathing heavily, looked up at the two women who'd saved him.

Alice knelt beside him and tore open his shirt, revealing the Kevlar vest hidden within. She was angry. He wasn't entirely surprised given how things had gone down, and judging by Randy's unsettlingly cold stare, she wasn't happy, either.

"You lied to me." Alice snapped. "How could you try to sell me ring?"

"Well, I didn't know it was the bloody Stone of Wonderland, did I?"

"You could have asked. He tried to kill me!"

"Well, he actually _shot_ me!" Hatter yelled back.

"What's the Stone of Wonderland, anyway?" Alice asked, calming about as much as he assumed she might be able to.

"It was mined by the Ancient Knights and blessed by the Mystics." Hatter told her. "It's what gives the Looking Glass its power." His brows furrowed as he looked at the gem. "How'd Jack get his hands on it?"

"I… I don't know." She mumbled.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

 **Chapter IV**

Alice was furious.

Randy couldn't blame her, truthfully. The high-tension environment where she was clearly the one in the center of it would make anyone crazy. Randy chose to stay back while she and Hatter argued. In truth, she didn't have much in the fight. She didn't take either side because it wasn't her place to, but it wasn't the only reason. The fact was, Miranda's mind was heavily divided.

Nothing about Wonderland felt right. It made her skin crawl for a multitude of reasons.

"Will ya talk some sense into her?"

Hatter was speaking directly to her and it brought her back to reality. "What?"

He sighed heavily and eyed her like she was either getting on his nerves, or he couldn't believe she wasn't readily agreeing with him.

"She's tryin' to bargain with the Queen."

Randy's eyes went wide as she looked at her friend. "Are you kidding me?" She walked closer to Alice. "She's insane."

"How would you know?" Alice shot back.

"We've read the stories." She said before she paused. "Wait, was it the Red Queen or the Queen of Hearts that was crazy?"

"It doesn't matter." Hatter snapped.

"No, yeah, he's right. You can't try to make a deal with her." Randy said to Alice.

"Look, I'm doing this, okay? You guys can't stop me."

Alice turned and charged away from them as strongly as she could. If they weren't a thousand feet in the air, it might have worked.

"Hey," Randy grabbed her arm and forced Alice to stop. "Look around. Does this post-Apocalyptic world scream _level-headed ruler_?"

Alice's brows pulled together and her tense stature relaxed just a bit. "I can't just leave him here." She said sadly. "You just don't get it. You never had a boyfriend that actually loved y-" Alice immediately snapped her mouth shut. Randy's head dipped a little, but she did her best to appear less affected than she felt. She cleared her throat and pushed beyond the ache the simple phrase brought up within her. "Oh, Miranda, I'm sorry. I didn't…" Her words fell away.

"It's fine," Randy forced a smile that lasted only a moment. "The point is, you can't go to the Queen. If she was rational, there wouldn't be refugees hidden in a library. There wouldn't be a resistance." Alice tried to look away, but Randy wouldn't let her. She spoke again when she had her friend's full attention. "She wouldn't be kidnapping people and holding them hostage."

The sadness in Alice's eyes slowly faded, but was soon replaced with desperation. Randy hadn't meant to take away Alice's only hope, but honestly. A quick glance around could tell anyone that the Queen of Hearts wasn't a viable option.

"Look," Hatter stepped up behind Randy. She felt him close the distance and did her best to keep from rolling her shoulders. She didn't like how it felt to have him so close. "We'll find somethin' else, alright?"

Reluctantly, Alice nodded. She even tried to smile briefly. Hatter gave her a sharp nod of his own before stepping around them and leading the way once more.

The moment he was more than a few yards ahead, Randy finally let herself shake. She shuddered and let the odd sensation roll off her shoulders.

Randy hadn't been comfortable around Hatter from the moment she saw him. She couldn't explain why, necessarily, but when he spun around in that high-backed white chair, she felt something cold trickle down her spine. It was both terrifying and rejuvenating at the same time. Regardless, it was something she'd never felt before, so it left her unsettled around him.

Her gaze drifted from the back of Hatter to the back of Alice. A quick flash of anger touched her, albeit briefly. It was still there, however. She was angry for what Alice had said.

Relationships were never Randy's strong suit. The truth was, she never cared. She'd been on dates only a small handful of times (less than she had fingers on one hand) and never had a relationship longer than a couple weeks. The fact of the matter was, she didn't care. She could appreciate a guy for being attractive, maybe being kind or interesting, but she felt nothing toward them. Because of that, she saw no point in continuing a relationship of any kind.

Carol had, in the most awkward way possible, inquired as to whether or not Randy was gay. She said she had a friend from work whose daughter was rather nice, pretty, and looking for someone to date. Miranda had begun laughing. She didn't meant to, but it was the way Carol went about it that made her laugh. There's something undeniably funny about a parent of any kind trying to talk about a relationship with a kid they practically helped raise.

Randy politely declined. She wasn't gay. Women did nothing for her either.

Through Alice, Miranda saw what being in a relationship was like. She saw the exhilaration, the fluttering anxiety, and the inevitable heartache that eventually bookended the whole ordeal. It was the first two she was interested in, the first two emotions that Randy wanted to feel, but never did.

She felt something close, she assumed, when she saw Hatter for the first time, but honestly, there was fear in there, too. Fear, as far as Miranda knew, wasn't supposed to be part of it.

When they emerged from around a building, Hatter forced Alice and Randy to stop behind the same phone box Alice had clung to only a few hours ago. The Tea Shop was being raided. There were Suits everywhere, and a man with a white, what looked like porcelain, rabbit's head.

Ratty was speaking to someone, a man in a bowler hat.

"Works with rats long enough," Hatter growled.

And then they were spotted. Miranda saw the white rabbit's head snap in their direction. Somehow, she knew he saw them. The creature had no eyes, and yet Randy could have sworn they bore straight through her. She didn't like it, and was grateful she wasn't the only one.

"Go, run!" Hatter said, shoving at the pair and getting them to flee.

The boots he'd given her felt heavy on her feet. They were a size too big and she'd had trouble running in them already, but that didn't stop her from doing it.

Hatter, as before, led the way. He wove through the buildings, along the walkways and past brush. Alice was directly behind him. Randy was sure to bring up the rear. She wasn't going to let Alice fall behind.

They finally broke free of the towering structures and emerged near a dock. Hatter ushered them onto it. Randy's heart thundered. She could see the posse in the distance. They might have been walking, but they were closing in fast, and Hatter couldn't start the motor.

"This has a bit of a knack to it," He continued to pull the chord, and the motor continued to remain idol. "Which I apparently never learned."

The posse had somehow closed at least half the distance. Randy couldn't stand it anymore.

"Oh, for the love of God." She snapped. Randy pushed him out of the way and brought her fist down hard on the outboard. It roared to life.

Hatter shot her a confused, yet surprised glance before he raced for the steering wheel. He immediately pulled away and drove them out into the lake where, only a few hours ago, Alice and Miranda had fallen.

They were roughly halfway across the lake and Randy still hadn't sat. She stood staring at the lake behind them, her eyes trained on the horizon. Any moment she expected to see another boat emerge.

"My tea shop's been raided," Hatter said. "I got the Suits and the Resistance out for me now. I got no choice but to come back with ya."

Miranda's brows furrowed curiously as she looked at the man behind her. He believed what he said, and that was perhaps what bothered her the most. He'd hate it in Other World. He'd hate it more than she did.

A low hum brought her back to her post. Overhead flew another Scarab. It was close.

"First," Hatter said, "We need to lose our shadow."

Another fifteen minutes later, Hatter drove the boat onto the shoreline. With Alice and Miranda's help, it was properly beached. He proceeded to cover it in brush and branches. It would help hide it from prying eyes.

As he did, Randy and Alice stood a bit further up the bank. They were hidden beneath the canopy safely. In the distance, they could hear the roars of something. She should have been afraid. She should have been worried at least. But she wasn't. Randy felt completely at ease –at home, even. She liked the woods.

"What was that?" Alice asked with a hint of fear.

"There are things in these woods that defy imagination." Randy replied in an airy tone. When she turned around, she noticed both Hatter and Alice eying her curiously. "What?"

"Come on," Hatter said in a tone that let her know he would rather move on than dwell on the strangeness of her. Randy was a bit grateful. "We need to set a trap."

"A trap?" Alice asked as she followed him reluctantly.

"Yeah," He nodded.

When Hatter glanced at her, he hesitated. Alice either wouldn't or couldn't hide her worry, and he saw it. Miranda saw his expression soften. It filled with a gentleness that she hadn't seen him use before. It caused her to narrow her eyes. There was something there, something that was beginning to bubble beneath the surface. Whether he was aware of it or not was up for debate, but she could see it just the same.

"Look, we can't outrun the posse, and we can't fight 'em, either. Best we can do is set a trap." He told them. "So, come on."

He waved his hand for them to follow, so they did.

They climbed the steep bank and finally found level ground. The trees towered high overhead. They were wrapped in thick, soft green moss. Ferns littered every single surface. It was like a green sanctuary. As before, Miranda felt her heart swell. She'd always felt better surrounded by the vast expanse of nature. The smaller the space became, the more panicked. The bigger the skies, the more at ease.

The trio had made their way roughly fifty yards into the forest before another roar flooded the area. It was louder than before, enough that it forced them all to stop immediately. Alice instantly reached for Hatter, clutching his arm firmly. Miranda couldn't help herself. She took a few steps further, her eyes trained on the distance.

"Did you hear that?" Alice asked with a panicked whisper.

The word fell from her lips before she could stop it. "Jabberwock," Miranda muttered.

Hatter's head snapped in her direction. "What'd ya say?"

She looked back at him with her brows raised. "What?" She tried for innocence, but wasn't entirely certain she'd succeeded.

There was another long, loud roar that was even closer than before.

"Right," Hatter's voice trembled just a bit. "You two need to find a tree you can climb."

"What, why?" Alice demanded.

"Uh, ya know that trap? Well, this is it." He turned a slightly worried eye to her. "And I'm the bait."

"What?" Randy snapped. She stormed toward him and stood on his other side.

"For that Jabberwock thing?" Alice sounded a bit angry, too.

"Are you mental?" Miranda demanded.

"Is it dangerous?" Alice asked.

"That thing will kill you."

"Oh my god!"

"Enough!" Hatter shouted.

His head had been snapping from one irate young woman to the other, bouncing back and forth between them as they berated his idea.

"Seriously," He said sternly, "Ya need to-"

A crunch forced the words to catch in his throat. Slowly, their attention shifted. Randy almost didn't want to look, but she did. Her heart instantly stopped.

"Yup," She squeaked. "That's a Jabberwock."

The beast towered over them, a body filled with rolls of solid muscle. It stalked toward them on two legs. Gnarled claws jutted out from each finger and toe. A round, alien-like head rested at the end of a long, slender neck. Dangerous spikes jutted out in random directions down the length of its spine. Inept wings swayed with each step.

Large, beady eyes stared down at them while it gnashed its teeth. It saw them and roared again.

"Run," Hatter barely said the word before the trio sped off in opposite directions.

Randy didn't know how far she ran, only that she managed it relatively quickly. She was prepared to keep going until she heard Hatter scream from somewhere behind. She immediately dug her heels into the soft, black earth and stopped.

"Alice!" He shouted.

It was then, and only then, that Miranda realized she was alone. Neither Hatter nor Alice had run with her. A bolt of fear struck her hard.

Without hesitation, Miranda spun and quickly ran in the other direction. She used Hatter's screams as her guide. They told her where to go, and soon she spotted both him and the Jabberwock. It was an odd scene, the giant creature running with Hatter chasing behind, but she had no time to enjoy it.

Randy pressed herself to run as hard as she could. The boots jostled on her feet, slid and shifted. She hated them because they wouldn't stop moving. After a few yards, Miranda finally knew she couldn't wear them any longer. As quickly as possible, she stopped, yanked them off, then ran once more. Without them holding her back, Randy sailed over the uneven landscape.

She passed Hatter. It was at an angle, which meant she saw the surprise on his face when she pulled ahead. Maybe later she'll explain that she has always been better without shoes, but it's such a trivial thing that she doubted it would matter.

The Jabberwock came into her sight and then faded quickly enough. Soon, she was only a few dozen feet behind Alice. She fell into line behind her best friend, once again putting herself between the monster and the girl.

Alice dove between a pair of trees that split at the base of the trunk, and promptly fell. Miranda followed suit, leapt over the felled tree that tripped up her friend and landed a few feet from her. Her momentum forced her to roll to a stop. When she had, Randy shot up and scuttled to Alice's side.

"Oh my God," Alice clung to Miranda's arm while the monster snapped and bit at the air in a desperate attempt to get them. It was caught by the trees. "What is that thing?!"

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son." Randy said with a heavy breath.

"Stop quoting that stupid book!" Alice snapped. She was rattled, so Randy didn't take the words to heart. When they were kids, _Alice in Wonderland_ had been one of their favorite stories.

Out of the corner of her eye, Miranda noticed Hatter.

"Alice!" He shouted as he ran for them. "Miranda!"

He made it to their side as the Jabberwock began to bend the trees. He slid to a stop and stumbled. His hat was nearly blown off by the power of the creature's roars. And yet, for whatever reason, Hatter actually drew back and landed a sharp blow to the monster's face. It seemed to genuinely hurt the beast.

"Go, go, go. Run!" Hatter said. He and Randy helped Alice to her feet and proceeded to help her run again.

From somewhere behind they heard the trees finally give. The ground shook and the roars drew nearer. It was on their tail. It was closing in. It was-

The ground suddenly gave way beneath her feet and Miranda, alongside Hatter and Alice, tumbled into a hole. The air was knocked from her lungs and her head ached, but when her vision cleared, she saw how lucky she truly was. Large, slender, and angry-looking spikes jutted out feet from the ground. It was more than enough to completely skewer a person –a person standing upright. They were terrifying.

"Ya alright?" Hatter asked.

"Yeah," Alice groaned.

"Miranda?" He asked. She rolled her head to the side and noticed he was nearby, a look of concern on his face. "You okay?"

"Yeah," She nodded and let her head fall back against the cold ground. "I'm fine."

No sooner than she let out a breath of relief did the monster appear. She instantly froze.

"Don't move." Hatter whispered.

She fought the urge to roll her eyes. It wasn't as though she planned to stand up and dance for it.

The Jabberwock sniffed and huffed as it tried to get them, but they were safe within the spikes. It didn't relent until it managed to stab itself in the mouth on one, however. They were no longer worth the effort and the beast strolled away.

Miranda was finally able to let the rest of that breath out. Her eyes even drifted shut.

The sudden sound of jangling metal forced her to open them once more. A man with white, fancifully-designed facial hair stood on the edge of the hole. His armor was old, bent and scratched, but still glittered in the light. It was the cause of the jangle.

"Vermin!" He shouted at them. "Saboteurs! Anarchists! I was this close to catching him." He held his hands roughly six inches apart, then seemed to rethink his assessment. He parted them further. " _This_ close." He dropped his hands to his sides in a huff. "Degenerate bagheads."

They fell into an odd silence. The old man continued to stare down his nose at them before muttering some more incoherent insults as he wandered out of sight.

"Who the hell was that?" Miranda asked.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter V**

Hatter couldn't relax his face. It was twisted with confusion and uncertainty while the "White Knight" bombarded him and the girls with the most ridiculous insults he'd ever heard.

 _What's a bug-gnasher?_ He asked himself.

Charlie introduced himself with what was perhaps the longest name Hatter had ever heard, and quickly demanded the same of the rest of them. Alice was the first to speak and, as Hatter assumed it might, her name caused him to perk.

When she told him that no, she was just Alice, he scowled, and stuck out his tongue in a weird way. It was like he tasted something disgusting. Hatter scowled slightly. The old man was utterly insane.

"He's mad as a box of frogs." Hatter told the two before turning his attention on Charlie. "How have you survived?"

Charlie stood a few yards off with his arms outstretched. He was staring off into the distance, seemingly in a world of his own before he suddenly snapped into reality.

"Hm?" He asked as they fell back to his side. "Oh," He smirked, "I'm a Knight. And I am an inventor, as I said," He sauntered toward them once more, his armor narrating his steps. Hatter put himself between the madman and the ladies, even going so far as to stretch out his arm to ensure they were behind him. "And I do tend to dabble in the _Dark Arts_." He practically sang that bit. A smile twisted his thin lips. "Soothe-saying," He snorted, "Toenail readings." Hatter grimaced. "That sort of thing. Here, give me your palm-" He reached for Alice's hand and immediately noticed the ring on her finger. "What is that?"

Hatter bristled and put himself between the knight and Alice once more as he began to ramble on about the ring.

"Okay," Hatter mumbled when Charlie went off and dropped to his knees. "We need to get away from this guy."

"Wait," Alice said before he could drag her too far away.

To Hatter's shock, she tried to convince him to stay. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. She genuinely wanted to stay with the nut job, all because he'd somehow survived so long in the forest.

"Just Alice," Charlie declared as he rose to his full height once more. "I, Sir Charles Eustace Fatheringay la Malvoy the Third, White Knight, and Guardian of the Curtsy," He proceeded to do just that.

"Oh, very nice." Hatter said.

"Will be honored to escort you, your goods, your companion, and your…" He grimaced, scowled and seemed to have to force the word, " _vassal_ ," Hatter eyed him in shock. "To my sacred kingdom."

Charlie bowed his head to her, but Hatter had trouble moving past one thing in particular. He turned to Alice.

"Did he just call me a vessel?" Hatter asked as he pointed at the knight.

"Vassal." Randy corrected. He noticed a small grin curling the corner of her full lips. "It means slave."

His face fell as he shot Charlie a look. The White Knight only grinned and arched a defiant brow at him. Hatter glared back.

"Come along, then. We should leave quickly before the rapscallions and no-gooders find their way to us."

Hatter pursed his lips and shook his head, but Alice seemed determined so he followed her along with Miranda.

As they did, led by Charlie to the horses he had tied to a distant tree, he glanced at Miranda out of the corner of his eye. She was off to the side, a little ahead of him, but behind Alice. He couldn't help it. The pieces of Alice were falling into place. He was getting a sense of her, starting to know how she would react in most situations. Hatter was always good at reading people, which was why the Tea Shop was so successful, but Randy was another story.

She was almost blank to him, and he didn't like it. She had cried over the destruction of his world, shed tears over the people here, and knew about their monsters. He knew there was a book about Wonderland, had heard about it from Suits who made the discovery in Other World, but surely it couldn't mention those.

But it was more than that. Miranda was nothing special, another pretty face that seemed to be the extent of it. He knew there was more, though, and that bothered him. After so many narrow escapes and high-tension situations that they barely managed to get out of, she should have shown a little of the person hidden beneath the façade. But no. There was nothing, and that bothered him.

Every time he looked at her, he felt like he was looking at a lie. There was no reason to it, but the feeling persisted.

When they reached the horses, Alice was beckoned to by Charlie. He told her it would be a great honor to be her bearer. As a result, Hatter assumed Miranda would join him. He leapt onto the back of his horse and offered her a hand. She stared at it blankly.

"Come on," He told her.

He noticed her take a step back, ever-so-slightly. His brows creased.

"I'll ride with Charlie." She told him before turning and approaching the madman in armor.

Hatter was left staring at her. Agitation and confusion filled him again. Why did she look at him like that? For some reason, she always seemed to recoil whenever he was close to touching her, shying away if there was a chance that his skin might touch hers. It was strange, wasn't it?

In the distance, he noticed her speak with Alice. Alice glanced at Hatter briefly, then turned her attention back to Randy and nodded. They parted. Miranda joined a slightly disappointed Charlie while Alice reached Hatter.

"You comin' with me, then?" He asked her.

"Looks like,"

When he offered his hand, she happily took it. He helped Alice climb onto the back of the animal and after a moment she settled into a spot just behind the saddle. With a shout to them, Charlie led the way. Hatter snapped the reins and followed suit.

"What's wrong with Miranda?" He asked Alice under his breath so she couldn't possibly hear.

"What do you mean?" She asked with a level of worry that didn't surprise him.

He took a breath and thought about how to phrase his question without sounding like he was nitpicking. It was an odd complaint he had, he knew it, but it was the look in her eyes that bothered him so much.

"She looks at me like I've got pox." He told her as they slowly ambled behind the white horse.

"What?" She laughed.

"You ain't noticed?"

He was sitting in the saddle leaning a bit to the side. It let him look at Alice as best he could while they spoke and helped them hear each other, so as a result, he could see her face as she dipped into her thoughts.

The once mocking grin had faded and her gaze drifted to the distance. Hatter looked periodically ahead to make sure that he was still trotting directly behind Charlie's horse, but otherwise his attention remained on Alice.

"Now that you mention it," Her voice was low and curious. "She is acting kind of weird."

"Oh, yeah?" He was glad to know it wasn't just him. Although, it wasn't as though Hatter had a reference point, a baseline for Miranda's personality to really see a difference. It was just a gut feeling that something was off.

"Yeah," Alice's face twisted a little with uncertainty. He noticed her look ahead at Randy. "She's been really quiet since we've been here. She's usually a lot more…" She paused and tried to think of what to say, a word that would encompass it all. "Just more. Randy's the one that's usually the life of the party."

Her brows pulled together and Hatter could tell she was worried, and a little sad. It seemed like she was only just beginning to realize that there may indeed be something wrong with her friend.

"Hm," He muttered.

Hatter returned his gaze forward. He stared at Randy. He couldn't see her being the life of any party –ever. She seemed serious, and as though a genuine smile might break her face.

Maybe Wonderland simply robbed her of any life Alice said she had in Other World.

They continued on their journey. To lighten the mood a little bit, Hatter wasn't above teasing Alice here and there. It helped break up the monotony of the slow-paced ride through the forest.

It was after midday before the finally made it to the Kingdom of the Knights. Hatter had never seen it before. He'd heard about it, read about it, but never laid eyes on the incredible White Kingdom. That was what it used to be called –The White Kingdom.

Towering structures of absolute beauty scraped the sky. There were towers made of glittering marble, sculpted into chess pieces. Rooks, Knights, and even Pawns made up the buildings. They were unique, but beautiful in that uniqueness. It wasn't the same cold, dead, ultra-modern monstrosity that the Queen of Hearts had created.

"Would ya look at that…" Hatter mumbled.

Nature had long-since overtaken the city. Vines and moss clung to ever surface. Trees, thick and huge, grew straight through buildings. They stretched a hundred feet into the air, their canopy rivaling the tallest structures. Bridges had collapsed and some chess pieces had toppled to the side.

The White Kingdom had been forgotten, relegated to nothing but a legend after the Queen took control. It made him sad, sad that this beacon of peace was a shell of what it used to be.

"Believe it or not," Charlie continued as he led them into the depths of the kingdom, through even more trees and thick forest. "This used to be the throne room."

Hatter's brows furrowed. He _didn't_ believe it. There were no walls, no roof because there were no walls, and even the floor had disappeared beneath centuries of neglect.

"But now," Charlie's voice was sad and heavy, "There is only a throne."

There, perhaps fifty feet away in the center of the expanse, there was indeed a throne. The stone chair had lost all of its detail, nothing but a basic shape with bishop pieces at the side. There was a man sitting there. A crown, a sword, and a body of mail and armor hinted that he used to be the king. Honestly, Hatter was surprised he hadn't disintegrated, withered beneath the weight of his adornments.

His feet took him closer to it, deeper into Charlie's camp, though his gaze had trouble leaving the former Red King. His chest physically hurt. Hatter couldn't say if it was his heart or not, but his chest ached, liked even breathing caused him pain.

As he stared at the throne and Charlie spoke on something, movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention. He glanced at it briefly and noticed that it was Miranda. His brows furrowed slightly as he watched her glide past him, down the slope, past Charlie's camp and to the throne. He shot Alice a confused eye. She shared it. Together, they slowly followed.

The closer they stepped, the more certain Hatter was that Miranda was shaking. No, she wasn't quite shaking. She was trembling. Her entire body, in fact, was trembling just badly enough that both he and Alice noticed. It looked as though she was sitting outside in freezing weather, but too stubborn to actually warm herself.

She came to a stop in front of the throne. In profile, he could see that she was crying again, but it wasn't silent weeping. Her face reflected the sadness this time. Her mouth hung slack as she struggled to breathe and her cheeks completely damp.

Then, without warning, Randy crumbled to the ground. It was like her strings had been cut and she collapsed. Her knees slammed into the dirt. She curled forward, her head down, and buried her face in her hands. Alice raced for Miranda, fell to her side, and immediately tried to console her. Hatter remained a few feet behind. The intense emotion that poured out of Miranda made his head spin and he couldn't stomach being any closer.

Alice wrapped her arms around Randy, and Miranda threw her arms around Alice. The heartbreak he saw on her face twisted his gut. It was so real, far beyond empathy. He felt his eyes prickle with tears, too, and had no idea if they were his own, or brought on by her.

"Hey, it's okay." Alice said softly, sweetly. She ran her hand up and down Randy's back while the other cradled her head. "It's okay."

Miranda shook her head. "It wasn't supposed to be like this." She cried. Randy clutched at Alice's dress, fisting it tightly as though it was the only thing that could steady her. "This is wrong. All of this is wrong."

Alice somehow managed to draw back. Hatter was surprised she could. It looked like Randy held her in a vice.

Alice held Miranda's face. "What are you talking about?"

She stared back at her friend. Hatter again saw that pain and it turned his stomach. It was worse than before, deeper than before. Randy sniffed and chewed on her bottom lip in what looked like a weak attempt to steady her quivering jaw.

"I'm sorry, Alice." She said. "I'm so sorry."

He noticed her flinch slightly and draw back just a bit. "Sorry about what?" Alice asked carefully.

Randy's jaw dropped and her lips parted to help her breathe. Her head dipped again. "I've been lying to you."

Alice let go of Miranda's face and stood. Hatter could see her body turn rigid. Given everything that had happened over the last few hours, he understood her reaction.

"What do you mean, _you've been lying_?" Her voice was stern.

Randy took a moment to steady herself before she finally pushed herself to her feet. She attempted to run her fingers through her hair, but they were caught on the bun that hadn't quite fallen out completely. She grabbed the tie and tugged it out, letting her shoulder-length hair tumble down. She ran her fingers through it like she'd initially attempted. It looked like a type of coping mechanism, or just something to help delay whatever she was about to say.

Eventually, she looked up at Alice again. Her eyes were rosy and glassy. Her cheeks were completely wet and pink. There was no doubting that she'd been crying heavily.

When she spoke again, her voice was different. She didn't sound the same as before, her accent no longer the same as Alice's.

"I'm not from Other World." Miranda said in a posh, soft, English accent. Hatter's face fell. "I was born here, in Wonderland."

Alice's feet seemed to move without her knowledge. They brought her closer to Hatter, and further from Randy. Hatter noticed her expression. It was blank, completely unreadable, but he felt the shift. Hatter could tell something was wrong.

"No," Alice shook her head. "No, that's not true. You're from Philadelphia. We grew up together. We went to school together. I've been to your house. You can't be from Wonderland."

"It's true." Randy took a step closer, but Alice retreated just the same. Miranda stopped trying to approach.

"No, it's not!" She said loudly. "I met your parents."

"No," Miranda shook her head softly. "You didn't."

"Yes, I-" And then Alice fell silent.

"You've never met my parents, Alice, because they never existed." Randy said.

Hatter knew that he and Charlie had disappeared to the pair, and he was partially grateful for it. He didn't know what was happening and was more than willing to be forgotten.

"I was born in Wonderland and sent to Other World to find you."

Alice flinched. "What are you talking about?"

"There was a prophecy." She went on to say. "It talked about the Queen's rise to power, so I was sent to Other World to find Alice. I was supposed to protect her, keep her safe, and help her when she found her way to Wonderland."

Alice had begun to shake her head, either refusing to believe her, or simply unable. "I can't believe this. I thought you were my friend."

"I am your friend."

"No, you're not!" She yelled. "I don't even know who you are. Jesus, is your name even Miranda?"

Her head fell slightly and like before, she ran her bottom lip through her teeth before answering. "Leah. My sister's called me Leah."

Alice's face fell. She lifted her arms briefly before they dropped back to her side as though silently saying _this is what I mean_ or _unbelievable_.

"I don't know your name," she began to count on her fingers, "Where you're from, or that you even had sisters. What else are you lying to me about, huh? Do you really work for the Hearts? Did you help them take Jack, too? Are you just trying to get this ring for yourself like _everyone_ else? That's it isn't it? You've just pretended to be my friend to get the ring."

Alice's voice had turned mean, almost cruel, as she shot accusations at the person that Hatter had seen meant a lot to her. Throughout the journey so far, they clung to one another. Now, there was a chasm so wide that Hatter doubted they could see each other on the other side.

"Enough!" Miranda, or 'Leah' rather, shouted. "I have _never_ worked for the Hearts. I was born here, do you understand that? _Here_." She motioned to the surrounding forest. "I was born in the White Kingdom and now look at it. Look at what the Hearts did to it." The tears began again. "Do you think this is how I wanted to tell you, hm? I wanted to tell you the truth, a thousand times over, but would you have believed me?"

Alice's jaw tightened along with the muscles in her back, forcing her to stand straighter than before.

"Why didn't you say anything when we got here?"

"I didn't know where we were." _Miranda_ said in a broken voice.

"Bullshit," Alice snapped. "If you were born here, then-"

"It didn't look like this when I left." She said as though it should have been obvious. "That city wasn't there. This kingdom was still shining, filled with people, and Wonderland was happy." _Miranda_ looked away briefly. She wiped the tears from her cheeks, but it made no difference because more fell the instant she blinked. She turned her attention back to Alice. "I had no idea where we were until Hatter said so. I don't even know this world anymore. How the hell was I supposed to tell you the truth, hm?"

 _Miranda_ shook her head. She stepped away, turned her back to them and paced slightly. Hatter could tell she was trying to organize her thoughts, probably trying to find a way to explain herself, though he doubted it was possible. Even he had trouble keeping up. Then again, maybe it was just due to the unbelievable things she was saying.

Eventually, _Miranda_ turned back around. Her eyes were focused solely on Alice.

"I don't want the Stone, Alice." _Miranda_ sounded broken. "I never did and never will. When I was sent to Other World, I was simply meant to watch over you, nothing more. I was never meant to become your friend, but I'm so glad I did."

Alice shook her head. Hatter could see she was on the verge of crying, too.

"You're not my friend. You never were." She said. Her voice shook. "Friends don't lie to each other. Friends don't spy on each other." Alice let out a scoff. "Ya know, I considered you a sister growing up. You were like family to me."

"I'm still-"

"No," Alice cut her off quickly. "No, you're not. So, y'know what? Why don't you just go back to your _real_ family, hm? Go back to your real sisters."

Hatter saw it in that instant. He saw when whatever was left of _Mirada's_ heart broke. He felt his do the same.

She took in a long, steadying breath and then began to peel the navy coat he'd given her from her shoulders. _Miranda_ folded it in half and approached him. Without a word, she handed it over. He took it, though he wasn't certain why. He wanted to speak, the words were right there on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't force them out.

 _Miranda_ stepped back and her gaze drifted to Alice.

"My family is gone." She said softly. "Murdered by the Hearts. Everyone I knew is dead. My home is in ruins." Hatter saw Alice flinch, but her exterior remained as cold as it could. "Do whatever you can to retrieve Jack and return home, but please, _please_ don't try to bargain with the Queen. She has slaughtered thousands without a second's thought and she _will_ kill you, Alice." _Miranda_ took a steadying breath, but it didn't seem to help. "I'm sorry I lied to you, but I'm not sorry we met. You were my best friend and I hope you find everything you want."

 _Miranda_ walked away and when she was roughly thirty or forty yards off, she turned, bowed to the three of them, then continued on. Within a minute or two, she was out of sight.

Alice sniffed. He looked at her and even though she tried to hide it, he could tell she was about to break down. Without a word, Alice walked away, likely to cry in private. Neither he nor Charlie stopped her.

Hatter glanced down to the jacket in his arms. It was still warm, but everything else felt so cold. Hatter lingered there for a moment before he tried to snap himself back into reality. He sniffed, shook himself into the moment and felt a tear trickle down his cheek. He wiped it from his cheek.

There was no reason for him to feel as bad as he did, but he couldn't help it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter VI**

Alice had to be alone. She didn't want to be anywhere near anyone. She had to try and steady her racing brain.

How could Miranda not be Miranda? How could she be from Wonderland?

How was Alice even _in_ Wonderland?

She'd been crying for the last ten minutes or so, crying for the friendship that apparently wasn't real, for the abandonment she felt, and because she was now alone. Alice was terrified without Randy beside her, but what else was she supposed to do?

Alice sat on a boulder that could have possibly been part of a building at some point, she couldn't say. In the distance, she saw the glittering city that had once been a majestic kingdom. It was still beautiful, but in a haunting sort of way. She couldn't imagine what it must have looked like when it was still a place where people lived.

And then her mind drifted to Miranda whether she wanted it to or not. Her entire past felt like a lie, her whole childhood and everything that happened during those years. It felt like a cruel joke.

There was hardly a time growing up that she and Randy weren't together. She remembered when they met in school. It was Randy's first day. She'd arrived in the middle of the school year, a transfer student from somewhere else. The teacher put her beside Alice. Alice had introduced herself when Randy sat at her desk and they clicked. She couldn't say if it was because she was so desperate for a friend after her dad had left, or that she simply saw something in Randy, but they grew close quickly.

Miranda spent the night at Alice's house all the time when they were kids, all through middle school, and high school. Alice even spent nights at Randy's house, too. At the time, she never thought it was strange that Randy's parents were always gone, working or what-have-you. As a kid and a young teen, you love the chance to be alone. You never feel more grownup than when the real adults are gone, so she never cared. It wasn't until this new Randy, _Leah_ , had pointed it out that, somehow, throughout the decade they'd known one another, Alice had never met Miranda's parents. Not once.

There were pictures of adults with Randy on the walls, signs that grownups were there, but never ever, not a single time, had Alice ever met them. How was it possible? How could it be at all possible for Alice to never notice something that should have been so obvious?

It just never donned on her at the time.

The betrayal that swept through Alice was unrelenting. It would conjure images of her and Randy, of every good time they had together, and then plastered _lie_ right across it. The memories were tainted now, wrong, because Miranda Harris never existed.

Alice wiped the tear from her cheek and took a deep breath. It quivered as she released it, but it helped steady her just a little. She felt so lost. Everything was slipping away from her, like smoke through her fingers. She couldn't hold onto anything.

A snapping twig and rustle of bushes caused her to turn. It was Hatter. He gave her a small, soft smile which she did her best to return.

"Dinner's done." He told her.

"Okay," She said heavily.

Alice pushed herself to her feet and followed him through the forest and back to camp.

Charlie, the strange knight, offered her something to drink and a massive rib bone of something she couldn't identify when they made it to the camp. Alice wasn't certain she could eat, but the way her stomach churned and roiled when she smelled the roasted meat told her that she was hungry.

In relative silence, Alice ate her dinner. Charlie and Hatter did the same. There was brief conversation, but none that had anything to do with Miranda and what had happened a few hours ago.

The sun eventually set by the time Alice finished off the massive rib. Whatever a borogrove was, it was delicious.

The heat from the fire helped soothe her. She complimented Charlie on dinner. He beamed. Alice liked Charlie. He was kind and seemed genuine. He was the first genuine person she'd met since being in Wonderland, in fact.

Alice and Hatter talked for a minute before the conversation turned.

"You're not coming back with me, are you?" She asked. Alice was surprised she felt a pang of sadness at the thought. It felt like everyone was leaving her.

Hatter shook his head. His face was somber. "This is my home, Alice." He said. "I mean, look at what the Hearts have done?" He motioned to the surrounding ruins. "This used to be somethin' beautiful, and now…" He shook his head slightly. "There are hundreds of people in hidin' and I'm their only chance."

She arched a brow. "I thought Dodo said the Resistance was going to hunt you down?"

"Yup," His voice squeaked a little which made her smile. "But Miranda was right." Alice flinched. She tried to hide it, but she was fairly certain he saw it anyway. "Wonderland used to be happy. We thrived before the Queen came 'round, and if I use the ring," She shot him a warning stare. "Look, I'll get ya back home safe an' sound, but I mean after. We can take _all_ the Oysters home. Without them, it'll be easier to beat the Queen."

"And what about Jack?"

Hatter ground his teeth and let out a loud, obnoxious sigh. "Ya gotta forget about Jack, Alice. There's no way to get into the Casino without settin' off a thousand alarm bells."

Her frustration and anger with Hatter returned. He'd always told her to leave Jack, to forget about him, ever since she'd arrived. It wore thin.

Alice shoved herself to her feet and tossed her dishes down where the others were on the other side of the fire.

"I'm not leaving him here." She said sternly. And she wouldn't. She wasn't going to leave him behind when Wonderland was clearly more dangerous than she ever thought. Besides, Alice couldn't lose anyone else.

The ring felt heavy on her finger. She should have just said yes. Why didn't she say yes?

"Jack's a lucky man."

Hatter's voice was soft, so she wasn't entirely certain she'd heard him correctly.

"What?" She snapped as she looked up at him again.

Crestfallen and shaking his head, Hatter replied, "Nothin'. I'm… I'm gonna get some sleep."

Without another word, Alice watched him walk away. He removed his hat with a flourish before he settled somewhere behind her.

Alice's attention went back to the fire. She poked at it, prodded it, and watched how the flames ate at the pieces of dried wood. She could have sworn he sounded disappointed in her determination to find Jack, maybe even jealous.

A strange sort of feeling began to bubble in her gut. She was flattered.

Hatter was a handsome young man. She'd noticed it the second they met, but the longer she spent time with him, the more she found his little idiosyncrasies kind of charming. If they weren't surrounded by so much chaos, Alice knew she would have developed a crush on him. Honestly, perhaps she was already, but it didn't matter. Her focus was on Jack.

Jack was her boyfriend. Jack was the one she was there to save. Jack was the one she was supposed to be with.

Eventually, Alice decided that it was time for her to go to bed. Charlie had offered her the only bed, and she happily accepted. But, once she'd lain down, sleep wouldn't come. Like before, her mind wouldn't stop.

* * *

Leah hadn't left. In fact, she'd only gone a few yards outside of camp. She would never leave Alice alone in Wonderland.

Her back fell easily against a tree and the nearby ferns offered a soft bed to sit in. Leah tenderly touched the fronds, delicately running her fingernails over the multiple little leaves. The magic had withered in her absence. She could still feel it, true, but it was nothing like it'd been when she and her sisters were little. Hell, it was nothing like it'd been when she was an adult, either. Everything was different.

It was like the Hearts had somehow strangled the land, like they'd smothered every natural wonder in favor of their manufactured ones. Wonderland was dying whether people could see it on the outside or not. Leah could feel it.

As her head rested against the gnarled, craggy bark of the tree, Leah's mind drifted back.

 _Long Before the Great War_

 _Three young girls with the same face and barely into their teens with long flowing hair made their way through the streets of the White Kingdom. Two chased a third, taunting and laughing as they did. They were skipping and holding hands while their little sister did her best to ignore them._

 _They made kissing noises at her, teasing her because they had nothing else to do._

" _Leave me alone!" Leah snapped back at them over her shoulder._

" _Awe, I think she's getting angry, Cali."_

" _Looks like it, Thea."_

 _They continued to giggle and tease her just because they could._

" _I'm never wrong, Leah." Thea said. "He's going to be your boyfriend."_

 _Leah spun around to face the pair who were still grinning. "Then I won't meet him."_

 _Thea smiled and snorted a little laugh. "That's not how it works, Sister." She said. And then she recited a paraphrased version of the prophecy that she had been teasing Leah over for the last few days. "A hand extended in kindness, he will welcome you home. He will see right through you, Sister. Your tricks won't work on him."_

" _I don't care." She said. "True love isn't real, not like that."_

 _She laughed again while Cali smiled. "Whether you believe in it or not doesn't matter. The instant you see him, you'll know. When you touch him, it will all be over. You can't fight Fate. She told me so herself."_

Thea enjoyed teasing her sisters with her prophecies whenever they pertained to either of them. It wasn't often, but whenever she saw something that included either Leah or Cali, Thea was over the moon. The prospect of Leah meeting her one true love brought months of untold joy.

Leah was young then and incredibly embarrassed by the fact. She would blush every time her sister mentioned the prophecy, which only meant Thea mentioned it as often as possible. She teased her little sister just like every other sibling would.

It took some time, but eventually the novelty of Leah's blushes ran their course, and Thea dropped the subject entirely. She remembered being grateful for it, as though she could breathe again, but she never forgot about it completely. That was probably why she hadn't dated often when she was in Other World. Even though she didn't fully believe her sister (despite every other prophecy coming true) Leah never felt anything towards the men she went out with, so there was no point in continuing a relationship with them. She'd all but forgotten about it, until she returned home.

 _It's Hatter_ , she thought. _Hatter is the one Thea was talking about._

She knew the moment she saw him. A burst of anxiety swept through her, a powerful emotion that made her heart flutter and her stomach fill with butterflies. She didn't like it and thought it was a simple crush (a new feeling, yes) until he told her they were in Wonderland. He welcomed her home while offering a helping hand. Those simple facts brought Thea's premonition screaming to the foreground.

As a result, perhaps she was a little distant toward him, but she couldn't help it. A petty part of her wanted to prove her sister wrong, even though she never was. Besides, Leah was far too distraught over what had become of Wonderland in her absence to care about something as trivial as her supposed soul mate.

Leah thought back to the last time she'd seen her sisters, the last time she was in Wonderland and the world was as it should have been.

 _The wind brought with it the signing from the flowers in the field down below. It was soft, without any true words, but lyrical and beautiful. It was spring and everything was in bloom._

 _Leah was sitting on a chaise braiding her hair as she listened to the music. As she did, a small dragonfly flew through her window. She smiled at it and the small puff of flames it blew before it flew away once more._

 _Cali was sitting in the far corner of the large room the trio shared. She was mixing and brewing, creating her concoctions as she always was. There was no Healer better. Cali's mixtures were always the best and in high demand, so she was always mixing. Half of her brew would go to the Court, the other half to the citizens. As a result, there were walls upon walls of bottles and ingredients that never seemed to be full enough, nor empty._

 _Thea was writing in her book. She was always one to record her various prophecies and rereading the old ones. She'd even make notes about the situations that had already come to fruition._

 _As they each sat there enjoying their spring day, Thea suddenly drew in a long, loud gasp of air. Leah and Cali instantly turned to her. They knew what was coming. Sure enough, when Thea's head dropped, she looked completely different. Her eyes glowed with a fluorescent blue and her hair fell into her face. Her beautiful features faded and she took on the look of a specter. When she spoke, her voice was not her own, twisted and hollow._

" _Red skies will devour, and white will fall." The haunting voice was soft, but echoed deeply within each young woman, as though it touched a part of their souls. "The savior awaits to hear the call. The dead will rise to claim the land. With magic's will aid the strong right hand. The throne will wither then rise again. And the savior's reign will begin."_

 _Thea exhaled and her body collapsed against her desk. Leah rose to reach her side while Cali grabbed a small bottle of glittering green liquid. While it was terrifying whenever Thea had a Vision, the pair had grown accustomed to it and knew how to act._

 _Leah tenderly took her sister's shoulders in her hands and guided her back in her chair. She helped her sit up. When Cali joined them, Leah opened their sister's mouth and Cali poured the liquid down her throat. A moment later, Thea woke up._

 _The potion helped Thea recover faster than she would otherwise, so she was with them quickly, but there was something wrong. Terror, if Leah had to guess, saturated her sister's features. Without an immediate explanation, Thea began to scribble down the prophecy. The words were always cryptic, but Thea said that she would_ _see_ _as well. She knew something they didn't, and it scared them both._

" _We have to see the King." Thea said. She tore the writings out of her book and stormed out of the room before either Leah or Cali could utter a word. They quickly followed her out._

It was that day Leah learned that war was coming to Wonderland, a war that would change everything. Thea told the king that they had to find the Savior. She said that Leah was the one to do it. It all happened so quickly.

Within days Leah was shoved through the Looking Glass with vague instructions and a sad, but reassuring smile from her sister. If she'd known that it would be the last time she'd ever see them, she would have said so much.

Leah wiped the tear from her cheek. She missed her sisters dearly and now her only friend wanted nothing to do with her. Leah felt alone, and in many ways she was. But even though Alice was angry and felt understandably betrayed by Leah's lies, Leah had no intentions of letting anything happen to her. Alice was all she had left.

* * *

Alice didn't know how long she laid there before she simply decided that she had to take things into her own hands. The springs creaked only slightly as she stood up. Holding the coat tightly around her body, Alice found herself looking down at Hatter. He was sleeping against a building and a fence. He looked so peaceful. It made her smile.

Alice wanted to trust him. In part, maybe she did. The fact was, he'd made it clear more than once that he was in it for the ring. Alice couldn't decide if she was angry by that, or respected it. The truth of the matter was he hadn't lied. If anything, Hatter had been relatively upfront. There was something to be said for that. Not even Miranda was honest with her.

She scowled slightly at the memory and fought the ache of betrayal.

Alice made up her mind as to what she was going to do. The cold hit her almost immediately when she took Hatter's jacket off and hung it on the rung of a nearby ladder. She made sure it wouldn't fall before she approached the king on his throne. Alice's brows creased as she looked at it. The bones looked sad. It was such a strange thing to think, but they did. The bones looked sad, as though the King knew what happened after he died.

The ring slid as easily off her finger as the jacket had from her shoulders. She glided it onto the King's boney finger and made sure it wouldn't fall off. Alice stepped back. Before she left the camp, she cast one last look over it and the men within. She smiled lightly, then made her way East.

* * *

A dream about her father and the loneliness of his departure followed her into the morning. Alice might have been out of the dream, but its claws refused to leave her. The best she could do was try to ignore it as she rose to her feet. Alice cast the fallen city one final glance, then continued on her way.

There were bugs making sounds, a few animals here and there, but nothing as terrifying as the Jabberwock. Still, Alice remembered the books and the poems. She remembered the other creatures in them like the Jubjub bird and the Bandersnatch. She had no idea what they were supposed to look like, but assumed they were dangerous.

She continued on her walk for a good long distance. Just ahead of her, she could see the edge of the forest. While beautiful, trudging through the landscape in her boots made her worry she'd roll her ankle at any time. She would be grateful for the leveled ground.

The scene beyond the forest was a bit more barren. There were rolling hills, dried brush and short dead grass. It looked like the Californian countryside. Even though Alice had never been to California herself, plenty of movies and television used it for filming.

Deep in her own mind, Alice didn't know how long she'd walked before she felt something behind her. There was a creeping feeling, a feeling that she was being watched, so it forced her to turn around. To her surprise, it was _Miranda_.

Alice paused. She kept her gaze firmly fixed on the familiar face of her one-time friend. _Randy_ said nothing as she continued her trek closer. She didn't acknowledge that she'd been seen, or seem to care in the least. Instead, she finally reached Alice's side and then continued on.

"Come along," She said in that English voice that Alice felt didn't suit her. "You're on your way to the Casino, aren't you?"

The best Alice could manage was a subdued nod.

"Then let's go."

 _Randy_ continued on. When she was roughly ten feet ahead, Alice finally snapped back into the moment.

"What are you doing here?" Alice asked in a demanding way as she did her best to close the distance between them.

"If you think I'm going to let you go to the Casino on your own, you're madder than Charlie."

"I don't want your help." She snapped.

 _Miranda_ paused then turned to face her. Alice had been closer than she realized and took a step back as though keeping her distance would make her somehow feel better. It didn't. This was her oldest friend and a complete stranger at the same time.

"I don't care." She said a little sterner than Alice expected. "This isn't your world, Alice. Hell, it isn't even mine anymore, but I'm still not going to let you do this on your own. Minerva Heart was batshit crazy before I went to Other World. You think it's somehow lessened now that she's a Queen?"

Alice chewed on the inside of her cheek briefly before saying something that actually hurt to say. "I still don't trust you."

She noticed _Randy_ flinch. She looked sad, but clearly tried to wipe the expression away before she spoke.

"Then ask me anything you'd like." _Randy_ said. "I'll tell you everything you want to know."

"How do I know you'll tell me the truth?"

"Why would I lie? At this point, there _is_ no point."

Alice thought over her proposal for a moment or two before she offered a reluctant nod.

"Okay," She muttered. Alice crossed her arms over her chest. It was a juvenile action, but it made her feel better. "What's your name, your _real_ name?"

"Cordelia." She replied. "My sister's called me Leah."

"And you're really from Wonderland?"

Leah nodded. "I was born in the Tulgey Wood, just outside the White Kingdom."

Alice nodded herself, though she didn't know why. "You have sisters?"

"I did." Her answer was a little heavier than those before it. "We were triplets." Alice's brows rose in surprise. Leah smiled a little. "I was the youngest."

"Are you sure they're gone?"

Again, she nodded sadly. "I'd feel them. It's hard to explain, but I'd be able to feel them here, in Wonderland, and I can't. I think that's part of the reason I didn't realize where we were."

Alice didn't know what Leah meant by _sensing_ her sisters, but she'd heard about the weird telepathy and psychic links between twins and triplets. Maybe it was the same thing.

They fell into a brief silence until Alice felt more questions arise.

"Why didn't you tell me who you really were?"

"Would you have believed me?" Leah asked leadingly. "Besides, how? As far as Oysters are concerned, my world doesn't exist. If I'd told you I was from Wonderland, you'd have thought I was mad."

"You said you came looking for me specifically." She said. Leah nodded. "Why?"

Leah hesitated for a moment. Alice could tell she was struggling with what to say, or perhaps how to say it. Eventually, she seemed to manage.

"My sister sent me to find you." She said. Alice eyed her suspiciously. "The three of us, we were gifted. My sister Thea was a Seer. When she warned the Red King that war was coming, I was chosen to go to Other World to find you. And then, when the time arose, I was meant to protect you here."

"But you were just a kid, too. Why would the King send a-" As she spoke, Alice noticed Leah's expression fall slightly and turn into something that bordered on sheepish. Her stomach sank. "You weren't really a kid, were you?" Leah shook her head. "How? You looked like it."

"Magic,"

Alice scoffed derisively. "Are you serious?"

She'd offended Leah, she could tell, and the woman's retort left Alice speechless.

A pale mist appeared from nowhere and wrapped itself around Leah. It blocked out every hint of the woman it covered. It dissipated just as quickly as it had formed, and what it left behind was ten-year-old Randy. Alice let out a gasp of shock and bounded back a few steps. Her heart raced as she stared down at the girl she'd first met a decade ago.

"Magic is real." She said in a child's voice. "At least here it is." Mist once more swept over the figure, again blocking out what was underneath and rising in height. When it faded, the appropriate version of Randy… _Leah_ stared back at her. "But I wasn't supposed to get that close to you. I was supposed to keep my distance."

"Then why did you?" She was still rattled, but did her best to keep questioning Leah.

"I liked you." She said with a halfhearted shrug. "You were kind to me, and I was alone in a different universe. I wanted a friend."

Alice sighed softly. Her shoulders slumped. She felt a little guilty, but at the same time, she all but refused to let herself be swept up in the moment.

"How do you even know it's me?"

"My sister said the savior would introduce herself to me, that she'd make herself known."

"Savior?" She asked in disbelief. Leah nodded. "I'm no one's savior."

"Yes, you are."

Alice shook her head sternly. She found the will to move and charged past Leah as though the pair of them had never stopped their journey.

"No, I'm not." She said. "You've got the wrong girl."

"Sorry to disappoint, but my sister was never wrong." Leah said as she followed Alice. "She told me where to go and you were the first person to introduce yourself to me."

"So?" She scoffed. "That doesn't mean anything."

"Yes, well, you're Alice. You might not be the Alice of Legend, but it's you."

"Why, because that's my name?"

"Yes,"

Alice stopped and spun. "You're kidding, right?"

"No. Don't ask me what it is, but that name means something here." She replied. Alice shook her head once more and began her walk yet again. "Whether you like it or not, you're going to help overthrow the Hearts."

"I'm not _overthrowing_ anyone. I just want to find Jack and go home."

"You don't believe that."

"Yes, I do." She said sharply.

"I can tell when you're lying."

A shard of ice pierced her. It caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end and her body to go motionless. Somehow, she managed to turn around to look at her former friend.

"What?"

Leah took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She scratched her eyebrow, a habit of Miranda's that Alice didn't appreciate this stranger repeating –even if they did share a face.

"I'm a Truth Seer." She finally said.

"A what?"

"A Truth Seer." Leah repeated. "I can not only tell when someone's lying, but I can make them tell the truth." Alice flinched, but she wasn't certain why. "So no, you don't just want to find Jack and go home. There's something else, whether you know it yet or not."

Too many emotions. Alice felt too many emotions and she had to separate herself from it as quickly as she could. Like before, she turned her back on Leah and started off toward the Casino again.

"I don't need this right now, okay?" She called back over her shoulder.

"Alice, stop!" Leah shouted. Alice had been walking so quickly that Leah had to jog after her. She felt someone grab her arm and force her to do just that. Alice stared back at Leah. "Look, I know you don't trust me, and I completely understand, but I _am_ your friend." Alice fought the urge to be outright mean, but Leah seemed to notice. "Whether you believe me or not, I still consider you my closest friend, and I'm not willing to let anything happen to you here."

Alice believed her, and that bothered her more than she thought it would. She didn't like that she was relieved that Randy had her back, even if she was told that Randy wasn't a real person.

So many things were struggling for dominance in her mind that Alice's head dropped. As she thought over everything, she noticed something odd.

"What happened to your shoes?"

Leah wiggled her painted toes. Her feet were dirty, which made sense, and entirely devoid of the boots Alice knew Hatter had given her to wear.

"Lost them when we were running from the Jabberwock."

Alice shot her a surprised glance. "You've been barefoot this whole time?"

Leah smiled crookedly and shrugged. Alice couldn't help herself. She laughed. It was far from the first time Randy… _Leah_ went a whole day barefoot, never noticing or remarking on the terrain. More than once Alice said she had to have leather for soles. It made her jealous that Randy's feet never looked like it. They always looked perfect.

Finally feeling some of the tension leave her for the first time in a while, noise caught her attention. Alice saw Leah's face drop and all emotion fade. Alice turned around and saw a dozen Suits emerge from the background, led by the man with the rabbit's head.

"Alice," Leah said warningly.

"It's okay." She mumbled as they closed in. "It's part of the plan."

"Right," Leah scoffed.

The rabbit spoke with a robotic voice and soon they were gathered up.

"What about this one?" The man in the black bowler hat asked, motioning to Leah.

"Who cares?" The rabbit said. "We got the broad."

"Hm," Bowler Hat mumbled. "We'll give her to the Casino. They can always do with a new Oyster."

Alice cast her a glance. Both of them knew she wasn't an Oyster, but neither of them was going to tell the Suits that. Instead, somehow, Alice knew Leah would use the chance to search for Jack and the small nod she gave told her so.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter VII**

Leah was led into the Casino, separated from Alice once they entered the incredibly garish building. Her Suit, another nameless man in black, pushed her through the corridors and into an actual casino. He didn't bother asking where she wanted to go, or where they needed her. Instead, he brought her to a blackjack table.

The Suit bent down to remove her shoes, but hesitated when he noticed there weren't any to remove.

"Huh," He mumbled to himself. "That makes this easier."

He produced a small bottle of something, and pressed a bobble. A wave of scented air hit Leah in the face and when it had, she went dumb. She assumed it was whatever forced the Oysters to remain compliant, so she acted accordingly.

Without another word, the Suit left.

The moment she heard the door close behind her, Leah rubbed her nose and tried to remove the smell. It burned, and she didn't know why. Like perfume with too much alcohol in it.

When she glanced up, she noticed the look of fear on the dealer's face and saw her hand glide somewhere out of sight.

"No, no, no," She chastised lightly. The dealer paused. "That won't be necessary. I'm here on behalf of the Queen." The poor young woman who's only job was to deal cards went utterly pale at the mention of the Queen. Good. "I'm here to do an inspection." Leah whispered.

"Inspection?"

She nodded. "I'm here to make sure that everything is up to par, that the Oysters are getting the proper entertainment for all of the good Wonders." She continued. "And you're doing very well." The dealer relaxed enough that a shaky smile touched her painted lips. "Now, I'm going to have a look around, but you mustn't tell anyone I'm here, alright?"

"Right, of course." The dealer nodded.

"Good,"

Leah gave her a smile as she slinked away. Before eyes could be drawn to her, Leah disappeared behind a pillar. The glamor instantly engulfed her body and by the time she emerged from the other side, never breaking in step, she was dressed no differently than one of the many young women working in the Casino. Hidden within the disguise, she was free to roam the grounds looking for Jack just like she told Alice she would.

As she did, Leah smiled to herself. She might have been a Truth Seer, but if she wanted to, Leah could lie with the best of them.

* * *

Leah searched what felt like the entire building, and still no Jack. He shouldn't have been that hard to find. True, she'd met him only once, but he was easy to remember. Jack Chase was tall, dark hair, square jaw, and damn good-looking. He should have stood out, but no. There was nothing.

As she walked through the halls on her way to another floor, swarms of Suits flooded the area. The men ran by her without a second glance. All of them were mobilizing on something important, and it wasn't until one of them said something in passing that she knew what the trouble was.

"The Queen wants the Oyster captured. She's with some guy and an old knight. They're heading for the roof."

Leah knew in an instant that they were talking about Alice, Charlie, and Hatter. She spun around and her glamor changed. She was no longer the young woman in the red and silver metal dress. She blended in with the Suits instead.

* * *

Hatter's lungs hurt as he did his best to catch his breath. It'd felt like he'd been running for days. It wasn't true, but that's how it felt.

He slammed the side of his hand into the elevator's buttons, nearly breaking them when he had.

"Up?" Alice demanded.

"Ya got a better idea?" He shot back.

"Yeah, back down." She said angrily. "We have to get-"

"We can't get Jack, Alice." Hatter was losing his patience and he felt a bit guilty for snapping at her, but he couldn't stand it anymore. She couldn't genuinely think they stood a chance of swimming through Suits to get Jack back. "I told ya, you can't bargain with the Queen. Did you think she was just gonna let you and your boyfriend go once she got the ring?"

"No," She said.

"No, exactly."

"Because he's her son."

Hatter felt the air in the elevator grow almost too dense to breathe. He shot her a stare. Alice wouldn't meet his eye.

"The prince?" He asked. She didn't answer. "Jack Heart is your boyfriend." Again, she remained silent. "Unbelievable."

"Look, that's not why we have to go back, okay?" She was still agitated, and he completely understood. "We have to go back for Ran… Leah."

The fact that Alice had stumbled over the name and did her best to correct it didn't shock Hatter. What did was the fact that he knew who both of them belonged to.

"Miranda's here?" He couldn't remove the disbelief, nor did he want to call her Leah. He didn't know why, he just didn't. Somehow he knew that the woman he saw wasn't Leah, which would make no sense if he said it out loud, but it was true. That face belonged to Miranda. Leah was someone else.

Alice nodded. "She came here with me. They put her in the Casino."

Hatter couldn't express the level of anger he felt at hearing that. Jack he didn't know. Jack was much easier to dismiss, even more so now that Hatter knew the truth, but Miranda? Whether or not her name had stayed the same didn't matter to him. He knew her. He'd spent a goodly amount of time with her, and he couldn't just leave her in the Casino.

But what was he supposed to do? Dozens of Suits, maybe more, were on their tail. If they didn't get out of there immediately, they'd be captured and God only knew what the Queen would do to them. Prison probably wouldn't be an option. The most likely outcome would be Hatter, Charlie, and Alice waving goodbye to their heads.

Both angry and filled with helplessness, Hatter reacted. He lashed out and slammed his fist into the wall of the elevator. The metal groaned and collapsed beneath the strength of it, bowing outward in the shape of a fist. He could even see the imprints left behind by his knuckles when he withdrew his fist.

He looked down at it to check for marks, to see if he'd finally managed to hurt himself, but there was nothing. There never was.

The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened with a ding. Hatter charged out with Charlie and Alice behind him. Two Suits noticed them the same instant and a fight broke out quickly. Hatter took one of them, leaving the other for Charlie. He took out his anger on him, beat the poor guy worse than he probably deserved, but he couldn't help it. He was angry, scared, frustrated, and again felt helpless. It was a bevy of emotions that had no other outlet than to fuel him in the fight.

A final punch to the face sent the Suit to the ground. He didn't get back up.

When Hatter turned, he saw Charlie bop his Suit in the head. Somehow, that seemed to be enough for the man in black to collapse. Hatter arched a brow.

"What now?" Alice asked. Well, she more demanded to know.

Hatter glanced around. They were stories above ground, far too high to even contemplating jumping or climbing down anything. They couldn't take the elevator, but there was something. Three, brilliant pink, mechanical flamingos were lined up along the edge of the roof.

"There," He said. "We get on those."

He and Charlie jogged towards them, though Alice was slower to join. "I'm not getting on one of those things." She said sternly.

"You don't have a choice." He told her shortly.

"You don't get it. I have a t _hing_ about heights."

Gunfire suddenly began to sound loudly. Suits were shooting at them from the far end of the roof.

"And I've got a _thing_ about bullets." He said tersely.

The ding of the elevator never sounded so loud, but it pierced the air, echoed well above the bang of the gunshots. Hatter's stomach sank as he thought about what could possibly be waiting for them. Sure enough, a split second later a Suit emerged from the elevator.

"Hey!" He shouted as he charged for the trio.

Hatter leapt off the flamingo. "Get on, Alice. I'll take care of this guy."

Hatter charged the stranger with his fist raised.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" The Suit shouted as he held up his hands.

It happened in an instant, but it left Hatter blinking as his mind struggled to comprehend it. A mist, wispy and white, consumed the Suit. It faded in an instant and when it did, Miranda was the one standing in his place.

"It's just me." She said.

"How…" Was all he managed to get out.

The gunshots drew closer, tearing Hatter almost violently out of his delirium.

"Come on!" He shouted at her.

Hatter tried to grab her arm to pull her over to the flamingos, a natural reaction he thought. But she swayed out of his grasp. He never touched her, never came close. It was another instance of her recoiling from his touch. But Hatter didn't have a chance to dwell on it.

The pair of them ran for the flamingos. He tried to get Alice onto one, but the moment they saw Charlie speed off at a ridiculous speed, he knew there was almost no chance. He didn't know how to convince her.

Miranda grabbed Alice and forced the terrified young woman to look at her. "Alice," She said sternly, but with an undeniable kindness. "You're going to be fine, alright? Just hold on and close your eyes."

"I can't. I can't." She breathed, repeating the word far more than once.

"Yes, you can."

Somehow, that simple phrase or the way Miranda said it seemed to fill Alice with enough confidence that she climbed onto the flamingo behind Hatter.

"Aren't you coming?" Alice asked shakily.

"I'll be right behind you. I need to handle these fools, first."

"Okay," She muttered.

Hatter was ready to press the only button on the flamingo when he saw Miranda move. She strolled toward the oncoming assault with a level of confidence that surprised him. She swayed her hands in a fanciful way. It was beautiful and hypnotic and to his surprise, seemed to hold a purpose. Hatter saw the wind move, gusts of it gather around her. It built and built.

When she thrust her hands in their directions, the wind followed suit. It slammed into the Suits, forcing them to hit the wall with a disturbing strength. They crumbled and didn't immediately rebound.

Hatter didn't press the button until Miranda was on the third flamingo.

They sailed through the air on the ridiculous speed. He began to relax, to breathe a little easier until they heard it. The loud booms of shotgun blasts drew ever closer.

To his horror, Charlie went down in a trail of black smoke. He disappeared in the lake. Miranda was next. Hatter and Alice were no different. No matter how hard he tried, he still fell into the water, as well.

* * *

She was wet. Again.

She had fallen into the lake. Again.

Leah was beginning to hate the damn thing. She'd spent more time in the water in the last two days than she could remember having spent in it in her youth.

She trudged up the rocky shore and took a seat on a fallen log. When her body was given a chance to rest, whenever her muscles no longer ached, she'd go in search of the others.

Leah prayed they were alright.

* * *

Sometime later, Alice and Charlie were back at Charlie's camp. Hatter had gone in search of his contact. Alice didn't know if she trusted whoever Caterpillar was, but she didn't have much of a choice. Part of her didn't want to see Hatter go, and she feared he wouldn't return, but there was no other choice.

Alice was still reeling. Her father was alive. While she'd held out hope through the years, to hear that it was actually true was overwhelming. It was amazing, actually, and she couldn't express how happy it made her. But she was frightened, too. What if it was a lie? What if she somehow couldn't connect with him?

The cons didn't bear thinking about. Alice did her best to focus on the pros.

But then, she couldn't help but think about Jack. They had dated for months, but she had no idea he was royalty. Sure, the accent spoke to that romantic, fantasy part of her brain, the part that liked to associate posh English accents with the royal families, but she never thought it was real.

It broke her heart to hear him speak so cruelly to her, but when the watch met her hands, it was all wiped away. At least mostly. Still, she was conflicted when it came to Jack. The only one that was constant was Hatter. Not 'Leah', not Jack –Hatter.

A small smile curled Alice's lips as she thought about him.

Sitting comfortably on the pile of furs that Charlie had given her to sit on, she was lost in her thoughts when the White Knight spoke.

"How old were you," He said, drawing her eye. "When your father disappeared?"

Alice only then realized she'd been smiling while stroking her father's watch. He must have thought that was what she'd been thinking about. Regardless, she answered his question.

"Ten," She told him.

Charlie nodded and a heavy, yet week smile touched his lips. "I was ten, once." Alice smiled softly, too. "I was ten when the armies came." His head dipped. "I was one of three squires to the real White Knight. I was in charge of the Great Lance, but when the time came," his voice began to crack, "I ran. I hid for three days and when I emerged, everyone was dead." Alice's heart broke. "The Knights, the Mystics, and even the noble Red King on his throne." She could see his eyes begin to glisten. "When they needed me most, when it counted, I failed them."

Alice felt her eyes prickle with the promise of tears as well as Charlie went on to say that, in a way to try and honor their memory, he took the White Knight's armor and his name. He had been waiting for a chance to redeem himself and upon her arrival in Wonderland, he decided that it had finally come. Alice felt the desire to hug him, to wrap her arms around the knight and hold tight to make him feel better, but she didn't. They didn't do anything.

As the minutes ticked by, Alice decided that she had a question to ask.

"What was it like here, before the war?"

"Oh," Charlie let out a small sigh and smiled. "It was glorious." He said. "When the sun hit the buildings just right, the kingdom glowed."

Alice smiled, too. "What about the Red King? What was he like?"

"He was a kind and noble king." Charlie said with the same air of respect that Alice doubted ever changed. "He was a good man, and fair. Along with the Mystics, Wonderland prospered. Her people and the magical creatures in the woods lived side by side. We were happy."

There is was again, a mention of the Mystics. Alice had read the stories as a girl, but she couldn't remember ever reading about them.

"What are Mystics?" Alice asked with genuine curiosity. "Hatter mentioned them before, too, but I've never heard of them before."

"Oh, the Mystics were three sisters, Calithea, Calisto, and Cordelia."

Alice felt a twinge of memory. Leah said she was a triplet, and that her real name was Cordelia.

"What uh," Alice had to force herself to get the question out. "What did they look like?"

"They were lovely." His voice took on an airy tone once more, filled with a childlike wonder that she could easily hear. "I still remember the first time I ever saw them. I thought they were angels." He let out a chortle that caused Alice to giggle a little to herself. "Skin so fair it glowed, brilliant gree eyes. I remember they were identical, expect for their hair."

"Their hair?"

"Yes," He nodded. "Calithea, I remember, had hair as dark as a raven's wing. And Calisto had hair the color of fire. Cordelia, she had hair as white as mine!" He chuckled. But, as before, his smile began to fade and the same sadness as before seeped in. But they fell to the Queen of Hearts, too."

Alice let the subject lie. She didn't want to press anymore and, as selfish as she knew it was, she was glad when she heard that Charlie's Cordelia had white hair and white skin. That didn't suit Leah with her brown hair and tanned skin.

Everything else, the fact that she had two sisters and shared the Mystic's name must have just been coincidence.

After a while, Charlie yawned and told Alice that he planned to take a nap. She nodded and let him slip off to his hammock. A few minutes later, she heard him snoring.

She smiled softly at him, but couldn't sit still anymore. Something made her want to walk. Perhaps it was the lingering anxiety, she couldn't say, but for whatever reason, Alice rose, retrieved the coat Hatter had given her, and went for a walk.

She didn't travel far, though. Instead, she found herself standing on a hill overlooking the White Kingdom yet again. It was tragically beautiful.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter VIII**

Hatter was annoyed when he made it back to the camp and found Charlie asleep, and Alice gone. He was annoyed and afraid, but he didn't linger on it. Instead, he did his best to remain calm and went in search of her. He only had one place to look. If she wasn't there, then he'd panic.

As he walked up the hill to the same rock he'd found Alice perched on last time, he was glad to see her again. Hatter smiled at the sight of her. She noticed him shortly after, forcing him to wipe the smile away and pretend he hadn't been staring.

"Good news." He told her as he approached. "The Resistance is willing to help." He closed the distance between them, "They're gonna send an agent to come take us to Caterpillar."

He waited for her to speak, to tell him that she was glad for the news, but she didn't say anything. Instead, Alice just looked at him. Her big blue eyes danced over his features with an expression he couldn't quite identify.

"What?" He asked.

In a soft voice, she replied, "I was beginning to think you weren't coming back."

He eyed her curiously, "Still don't trust me?"

She didn't answer his question. "How long 'til they get here?"

"Those guys can move pretty fast when they want to." His voice drifted just a bit towards the end. Hatter's gaze had wandered and as a result, landed on the fallen kingdom. His heart sank once more at the sight of it.

"You're going to join them, aren't you? Fight alongside them?"

"I have to try." He said heavily. "Miranda's right," He looked at Alice again. "This isn't right. And Dodo wasn't wrong, either. I've spent my life playin' both sides of the court. I let the Hearts think I was workin' for them while feeding their enemies. It was the only way I could stay alive, but those days are done."

A small, soft smile touched her lips. Despite the action, however, Hatter could tell something was wrong. For some reason, he felt compelled to console her.

Reaching forward, he tenderly held her arm. "Come on," He said kindly. "We should get back."

Alice smiled once more and nodded. Still holding onto her lightly, Hatter guided her forward. Alice began to walk, and he followed.

Hatter's heart beat a little quicker than normal. He knew why, but he didn't know how it had started. There was a shift, he could tell, but it felt almost sudden. Over the last couple of days,

Hatter would be remiss if he didn't admit, at least to himself, that he had been developing feelings for Alice. He couldn't help it. She was strong, beautiful, and loyal to a fault. She might have the ability to irk every nerve Hatter had and a few he hadn't realized he possessed, but that didn't stop him from caring about her.

As they drew nearer to the camp, Hatter noticed that Alice was deep in thought. Something was weighing on her, and he felt compelled to speak.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he walked alongside her.

She hesitated only briefly before speaking. "What if I get stuck here? What am I going to do."

Her walk had slowed until it stopped completely. Hatter stepped around until he stood directly in front of her.

He looked down at her and felt his heart swell again. Hatter tenderly held her arms in his hands and felt it. He felt the air shift between them and knew he wasn't alone.

"Then I'll take care of ya." He told her. He felt himself inching closer, and was relieved that she did the same. "I think you're luck's finally changin'."

Seconds before he would have pressed his lips to hers, someone else spoke up.

"That's right, it is." A male voice declared.

The shock of it forced them to part. Hatter saw a slender, well-dressed young man with perfectly sculpted hair and a ridiculously perfect face stride forward. He instantly hated the stranger.

"Jack?" Alice asked uncertainly.

Hatter's heart sank. He d _efinitely_ hated the stranger.

A rush of anger surged through him for more than a few reasons. As a result, Hatter charged forward. He grabbed a random stick along the way and brandished it like a weapon. He didn't care that Jack held a sword.

"You think you can take me with that?" Jack asked tersely.

"I'm not an old man."

"Oi!" He heard Charlie shout.

"Hey!" Alice snapped. She jogged forward and put herself between the two. "No one is fighting anyone, okay?

"Who's your friend?" Jack hadn't removed his sharp tone.

"Just a friend." Alice replied. Hatter felt a very real jolt.

"Yes, I can tell. Very friendly."

"Am I hearing you right, Jack? The man who's engaged to a duchess is jealous?"

"A little."

Before the conversation could progress, a snapping twig and the rustle of bushes drew their attention. Jack was the first to see it. Hatter noticed his odd expression before he and Alice turned around to find the source. It was Miranda emerging from the woods. And she looked angry.

"Randy?" Jack asked with a level of surprise that bothered Hatter. He didn't know why, but it did. "What are you-"

His inquiry is cut short when Miranda flicked her wrist. His sword flew from his hand and landed off into the distance in a large fern. The look of shock on the prince's face made Hatter grin internally.

"Jack Heart." Miranda said as she drew even closer. " _You're_ Jack Heart."

"Yes," He replied unsurely.

Miranda immediately thrust her hands upward. The ground began to vibrate and, just as suddenly, vines shot out of the dirt. They sailed toward Jack with intent, as though guided by Miranda's will. They wrapped around his arms, his wrists, his ankles, and a thick one wrapped around his neck. Even though Hatter didn't like the man, he felt a bolt of fear at the sight.

"Leah, stop." Alice said sharply.

"Leah?" Jack choked on the word. "I thought your name was-"

Miranda twisted her wrist. Hatter saw the vine around Jack's throat tighten.

"You don't get to speak." She told him in a cold voice. "Your family is a disease. You destroyed everything. My friends, my sisters," Hatter saw her eyes well with tears once more. "Your mother killed them all just so she could win a crown."

Jack's confusion deepened. "You're from Wonderland?"

"Everything I've ever loved," The ground began to tremble, "Everything I've ever known,"

Cracks began to form beneath Jack's feet. They expanded, opening wider and wider and, to Hatter's horror, the prince began to sink within them. It was as though the earth was trying to devour him.

"You've taken it all from me." Her voice shook with rage and sadness. "They were better than you."

"Leah, stop it!" Alice cried again, but she didn't hear it.

Miranda didn't seem to realize there was a world around her. Her focus was solely on Jack and the others were forced to watch in stunned disbelief and utter horror as Jack struggled to no avail.

Hatter didn't know what to do. He could only watch and as he did, he noticed Miranda shaking. She looked to be struggling with the magic that was using to attempt to murder the prince. He didn't know she hadn't eaten in two days, that she was exhausted or that she was emotionally destroyed, only that something had to give.

Without warning, it looked like the color was washed out of her. It began in a cascade, like someone had dumped a bucket of water over her head, but instead of water running down her body, drenching everything it touched from head to toe, the color fled her body.

Hatter watched in disbelief as her hair turned a silvery white and her skin grew shades paler. Again, it was just a wave of change, not all at once, and that somehow made it more unsettling.

"Impossible," Jack somehow managed to choke out.

"Oh my God," Alice mumbled.

"A Mystic," Hatter said. The words simply slipped out as little more than a breath, but it seemed to be loud enough for her to hear him

Everything went still. The Earth stopped shaking and Jack stopped sinking. He was probably grateful for it given he was almost hip-deep in the hole.

The woman who used to be Miranda glanced down at her hands and only then seemed to realize that whatever façade she'd been hidden beneath had vanished. When she looked back up at Alice, Hatter could see her emerald-colored eyes.

For the first time since meeting her, Hatter didn't feel that strange niggle at the back of his neck, the sensation that never made sense, but was always there when he looked at Miranda. Maybe it was because Miranda had clearly always been a lie?

The person who stood before him now was the truth, the real woman behind the mask, and she looked startlingly different. It wasn't just the obvious either, like her skin and hair color, though that played a large part.

All of Randy's features had softened. Where the former had an oval-shaped face, Cordelia's face was rounder and more heart-shaped. Her cheek bones were defined, her jaw soft, and her lips full. She looked elven, a trait added to but the tips of her ears poking through the long, silvery hair that replaced the regular chocolate brown it had once been.

Leah exuded an unseen power, though Hatter didn't know if that was the truth, or because of the legends he'd heard about her and her sisters.

"Who are you?!" Alice suddenly yelled. Her voice was shrill and filled with confusion.

"Alice, I-" Leah's gentle voice faded. She clearly didn't have an explanation that she thought would suffice, so she stopped speaking entirely.

"Let him go, now." Alice demanded shakily.

"No," Leah said. Her voice wasn't strong, either. "After everything his family has done, he deserves this."

"You can't kill him."

"Why not? He killed everyone I loved."

"No, I didn't." Jack said in a thick, hoarse voice. The vine was still tightly wrapped around his throat.

"Your mother did." She hissed at him so hatefully that Hatter felt a chill from it. "This is all her fault."

"Yes, it is, but I'm nothing like my mother."

Leah flinched. She scowled at him and turned once more, squaring herself on him.

"What did you say?"

He stared at her as sternly as he could given the situation. "I am nothing like my mother." He repeated. "I despise what she's done and I've spent years working to undo her damage."

Hatter saw Leah's expression soften ever-so-slightly and somehow knew she was beginning to waver.

"That's a lie." Hatter declared. "It's all a lie. Blood and water, remember. He'd workin' for his mother."

"No, I'm not." Jack said almost hatefully. "Ask yourself why I'm alone. Why don't I have five-hundred Suits at my back?" Her jerked and pulled on the vines, but they held strong. "Ask yourself how I found you."

Hatter glared and drew closer, but kept himself far enough away he wouldn't get sucked up into the void.

"How _did_ you find us?" Hatter asked.

"You sent for me." Jack hissed. "I'm the agent Caterpillar sent to meet you."

A heavy silence drifted between those gathered. Hatter, while reeling over the declaration, refused to believe a Heart.

"Bullshit," He said. "You're lying."

"No,"

Leah's voice was soft. It lost all of its confrontational edge and somehow that bothered Hatter more than the rage. To add to his confusion, she snapped. The vines vanished in a puff of smoke as though they'd never been there. The crater remained, but Jack easily climbed out of it.

"He's telling the truth." Leah said.

"How the hell would you know?" Hatter was coarse with how he spoke, but he couldn't help it.

"Truth Seer," Alice muttered.

"What?" Hatter snapped.

"She's a Truth Seer, right?" Alice asked the Mystic. Leah nodded. "So you can tell if he's lying or not?" She nodded again. "And you can make him tell the truth?" Again, Leah nodded. "Good." Alice turned her attention on Jack. "I've got some questions."

"We don't have time for this, Alice." He said as he dusted off his suit.

"Make time." She said sternly. "Is my father really alive?"

"Yes,"

Leah nodded when Alice looked at her. Almost immediately, she let out a sigh of relief.

"And you know where he is?"

"Yes, he's in the city."

Leah nodded.

"Are you going to take me to him?"

"I'm going to take you to Caterpillar, who will take us to him."

Leah nodded and Alice began to shift oddly on her feet. It caused Hatter to narrow his gaze.

"Those things you said to me, in front of your mother," Alice's voice was lighter than before, as though she was embarrassed, which he thought was strange. "Did you mean them?"

"Of course not." Jack said. "I care for you, Alice, more than you can possibly know."

As she had after each question, Alice looked to Leah for confirmation one way or another. Hatter almost couldn't manage the task. He wanted it to be a lie. He wanted it to be the thing that sparked Leah to attack once more, but it wasn't. Instead, as she had with each answer previously, Leah nodded.

Hatter's heart sank and the stick he'd been holding on to dropped to the ground.

"I can understand why you wouldn't trust me, Alice," Jack said as he stepped closer to her, "But who would you rather trust? A Resistance insider and future king, a man who cares for you more than anyone in the world, or," Jack scowled a bit, "This man?"

Alice turned her head and looked at Hatter. He could see her confusion and desperation, and it hurt. The moment they shared before was wiped away as though it never existed, and it hurt him more than he could express.

His feet carried him away from her, expanding the distance between them.

"Where's the ring, Alice?" Jack finally asked.

Alice replied, but Hatter barely heard her response. He was simply focused on the fact that she was leaving him. She was choosing Jack. He knew he shouldn't be surprised given he'd been her whole reason for storming through Wonderland, but he still was for some reason.

While Jack retrieved the ring, Hatter forced himself to speak once more.

"I wish you all the luck in the world, Alice." He finally said.

Her brows furrowed slightly. "You're coming with us, Hatter."

He forced a smile that he knew she wouldn't believe. "I don't think I figure into the future-king's plans."

Her mouth opened as she attempted to speak, but words didn't immediately emerge. He noticed her eyes drift to a spot over his shoulder. Hatter glanced back and spotted Leah. The sight of her, of who she really was, forced a trickle down his spine that made him look away.

"Leah?" Her voice was almost hopeful.

He heard her cool, lyrical voice and had to fight a shudder. "Hatter's right. I doubt your price is going to want us following along."

Her confusion deepened. Alice then turned on Jack.

"They're coming with us." She asserted, but Jack brushed her comment away easily.

"Caterpillar was very specific. You're meant to come alone."

"But Hatter stood by me, and Randy, or… Leah," It was clear Alice still wasn't accustomed to the different name, something probably made all the more difficult given the immense transformation. "She's my best friend."

Out of the corner of his eye, Hatter saw Leah flinch, though he didn't know why. He didn't want to think that she sensed Alice may have lied.

"Hey," Hatter said as he stepped closer to Alice, drawing her attention. He forced a smile. "I wouldn't want to go with this guy, anyway."

"But,"

"Go," He said as he stepped back once more. Hatter did his best to keep the calm and compliant exterior despite how much he was breaking inside. "Trust me, you're better off with this guy."

He hated that he believed the statement, but it was true. Jack was right. Alice was better off with him.

Leah stepped forward. Hatter saw the brilliance of her as she passed him and closed the distance between her and Alice.

"I wish we had more time. I could…" he saw her head dip, "I don't know. I could attempt to explain everything, I suppose."

"You mean the fact that you're a magical creature from a make-believe world?" Alice asked in a blunt, monotonous voice.

Leah let out a small laugh that caused Alice to smile slightly. "Exactly."

They fell into a silence. Hatter noticed Leah shift, as though she was attempting a hug, but unsure of whether or not she could. Alice seemed to notice the same and reached forward. She wrapped her arms around Leah and hugged her tightly, burying her face in the Mystic's silvery hair.

"I'm so sorry about everything." Leah mumbled against Alice's shoulder. "I'm going to miss you, so much."

Hatter saw Alice's grip tighten to the point she clutched at Leah's shirt.

"I'm never going to see you again, am I?" She asked I a heartbreaking voice.

"No," Leah said softly, "I don't think you will."

"Alice,"

Jack's voice, while quietly spoken, was like a knife through the tender moment. Reluctantly, the pair parted. Alice tried to force a smile, and Hatter assumed Leah had done the same.

"Be safe," Leah said.

Alice nodded. "You, too."

"Come along, Alice." Jack said again.

She began to leave with him, but cast glances back a few times before she left their sight. Hatter felt his eyes prickle, and something scratch at the back of his throat. He knew he was going to cry, but did his best to force it down.

"So," Hatter's voice caused Leah to turn around like he assumed it might. He was no more prepared to see the real her as he had been the first time. He moved beyond it, however, and like his sadness over Alice's departure, he did his best to pretend he was fine. "Mystic, hm? Thought you lot was gone."

He hated himself for the callous phrase the instant it left his lips. He'd seen how she reacted when she learned the news, and yet he still managed to stick his foot in his mouth.

"Not all of us, clearly." She replied.

He flinched. "Sorry 'bout that."

She didn't reply and instead ran her fingers through her hair. She brushed it aside. It was then Hatter noticed how long it really was. Miranda's hair ended just at her shoulders. Leah's hair proceeded to cascade to her elbows in a wave of silver. It was beautiful.

"Eh-hem," Charlie's voice caused them to look at him. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, would someone please untie me?"

"Oh, right." Hatter muttered.

He quickly darted to the knight, helped roll him over, and untied his wrists. Jack hadn't made the knot too tight, so it was easily undone. The moment he was free, Charlie clambered to his feet. His eyes were on Leah and his smile was wide.

"Lady Cordelia," He bowed to her as best he could. "You probably don't remember me, but we met before."

"Really?" she asked curiously as she gave him her full attention.

"Yes," He swooned over the word. "I was just a boy then, of course. A lot's changed." He sniggered. "You and your sisters were there when His Majesty bestowed upon me the honor of being the White Knight's squire."

Hatter saw a sweet, kind smile spread across Leah's face. It helped wipe away some of the coldness he felt at Alice's departure, but not all of it.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN:** Let me know what you think, and please enjoy!

 **Chapter IX**

Perhaps he shouldn't have been surprised to see Charlie following behind Alice and Jack. He wasn't, really, but he'd been surprised that it took him so long to spot the knight. His glittering armor should have been well-visible much earlier.

The pair of them had trotted behind Alice and Jack for a long while in relative silence. They were done sending barbs back and forth, jabs about following after Alice when they'd both said they wouldn't. Hatter genuinely wondered if Leah was somewhere around, too. She might have said she needed some time to herself, that she wanted to go back into the woods, but he knew it was a lie the moment the words left her lips. He'd never be able to explain how, but it was no different than when he looked at Miranda's face. It was a lie, and he could tell.

The hair on the back of his neck bristled and rose on end when he thought about Leah. He'd never met a Mystic before. They were already gone by the time he was born. Unlike Charlie, Hatter was a post-war child. He never knew Wonderland as anything else, so he only had stories. By then the Knights and the Mystics had been turned into legend.

But there she was, white hair and glowing skin, doing everything she could to kill the prince of Hearts. He'd been with her the whole time she and Alice had been in Wonderland, and he never knew it. He only knew something about Miranda wasn't right, that she was off in some insubstantial, hard to pinpoint way.

Hatter drifted into his memory of her reveal. He didn't know how else to describe it other than 'magic'. In truth, Hatter didn't know how to describe her, either. He only knew how he felt when he saw her: stunned. How else was someone supposed to feel when they saw a creature of legend?

Everything made sense, though. Everything that had bothered him had finally fallen into place. Now, Hatter knew why she'd flinched when she met him, why she looked so surprised when he said they were in Wonderland. Now, he knew how she knew Wonderland was broken and why she cried at the Great Library. She was tied deeply with their world, a physical part of it, and coming home to find it in tatters must have been a heartbreaking.

Hatter didn't envy Leah. It must have been a hell of a shock to her system when she tumbled through the Looking Glass alongside Alice only to find out the place she'd grown up was entirely foreign to her.

Leah was suddenly shaken from his thoughts when Hatter saw the Suits finally emerge from the building where Alice and Jack had vanished. He began to vibrate as adrenaline pumped through his system with the fight. He tightened his hands on the reins.

He counted down, told Charlie to be ready and then charged. Hatter swung his sword and cut down one, maybe two Suits. He called back for Charlie, for aid in their fight, but his heart sank when he looked over his shoulder. The "White Knight" atop his "noble steed" was charging alright –in the opposite direction.

Hatter was stunned into immobility. It might have only been a moment, but it was more than long enough for him to be grabbed and yanked down from his saddle. Hatter's shoulder slammed into the unforgiving ground. He heard a pop, felt a fiery burn throb in his shoulder, and knew in that moment that it had been dislocated at least, broken at the most.

No matter how he tried, Hatter couldn't quite catch his breath. A Suit grabbed an arm a piece and heaved him up. Hatter cried out in pain. It rocketed through him. His vision blurred, but he couldn't tell if it was the horrible agony he felt in his shoulder, or tears that gathered as a result. Probably both, honestly.

"Hatter," The rabbit chuckled as he approached. Hatter narrowed his eyes on the autonomous person. There it was again, that flash of almost-recognition. He felt like he knew who the rabbit was, but he couldn't be certain. "Don't remember me, do ya?" His accent was strange, like what the Oysters considered either New Yorker, or Bostonian kind of accent. The digital twng made it hard to pinpoint. "Ya should. We use to work together."

And then he knew. He knew who the rabbit was and cold swept through him as a result.

"Mad March," His voice shook as he spoke. The rabbit chuckled.

Mad March and Hatter had been partners on one single job. That was all it took for Hatter to realize he wanted absolutely nothing to do with the man. A long time ago, when he was still kissing the Hearts' collective asses, Hatter had been told to help March find a branch of the Resistance because, being the owner of the Tea Shop, the Hearts knew he had contact with the unsavory of Wonderland.

Hatter was uncomfortable around March from the moment he met him. The guy's eyes (because he still had a head back then) were empty. There was no spark of life, no emotion, no anything that let you know he was an actual human being. Even though they were bright blue and should have glittered at least a little, Hatter had seen more life in the rabbit head March currently had than he did back then.

It had been the longest day of his life and he was the happiest he ever was the second he was away from the madman.

A Suit screaming jerked Hatter back into reality. March spun as well, moving just enough out of the way to show Hatter what had happened behind him. A Suit had slammed into an exterior wall. Another pair were suddenly lifted into the air and sent flying over the giant chasm between them and the buildings across the way. They landed hard and didn't move again when they had.

"Randy!" Alice chimed happily.

But it wasn't, not really. Hatter saw Leah approach. Her eyes were focused with laser precision on the men surrounding him, Alice, and Jack. With a hard expression, she twisted her hands in those same delicate motions he'd seen before, the motions that held power. Hatter felt the air shift just before another Suit was thrown violently out of the way. She was picking her way easily through them because, like Hatter had been, they were too stunned by her appearance to do much about it at first.

"Mystic," March growled hatefully.

She continued forward, her bare feet landing softly on the grass while she picked off the nearly comatose Suits. Hatter grinned a little, but the grin was wiped away quickly.

March produced a handgun and aimed it directly at Alice's head. Leah immediately went still. Hatter struggled against the man left holding him, but with his right shoulder practically useless, he couldn't do much about it.

"Stop right there, Mystic." March said. "Or I'll shoot."

Hatter's heart thundered as seconds ticked by at an agonizingly slow pace. But she wasn't afraid. In fact, he saw Leah arched a brow and smirk sarcastically at him.

"No you won't." She said.

"No?"

Hatter's eyes darted from March to Leah and back again. He wanted her to fling March off the edge of the building, to throw him so far away that he could never come back, but at the same time he was glad she didn't. Hatter was afraid that, somehow, March would manage to shoot Alice first.

"The Queen needs her. You won't shoot."

A wave of relief, albeit a small one, swelled within Hatter. She was right. The Queen wanted Alice alive. March couldn't-

Something cold and unforgiving was suddenly pressed against Hatter's temple hard enough that it forced his head to the side. His jaw clenched. He already knew without looking that it was March's gun. The click of March thumbing back the hammer was simply further proof.

Hatter's eyes drifted shut and his heart beat faster than he thought humanly possible. March would shoot him without a second thought. The madman would gladly kill him. Hatter was expendable. Hatter was shaking, both from fear and the pain still radiating from his shoulder. He was going to die if he so much as flinched in the wrong direction.

He took in one shaking breath through his nose after another before he gained enough courage to open his eyes again. Leah was staring at him in what was perhaps the most terrified expression he'd ever seen. Her lips were parted, her brows furrowed, and a very real panic reflected in her eyes. He could tell in that moment that she was just as aware that March would kill Hatter as Hatter was.

But it didn't matter, and he said as much.

"Get Alice outta here." He said. Even his voice shook. "Get her and go."

"You move," March said to her. "I'll paint that wall with his brains."

Hatter flinched and Leah did, too. Something told him March was being incredibly honest. He wasn't a Truth Seer like Leah, but he didn't have to be. If her reaction was anything to go by, March had every intention of shooting him if she so much as twitched.

Leah met Hatter's gaze. He saw her silently pleading, as though she was desperate for the slightest hint as to how she was proceed. The best he could offer was a small, halfhearted smile that hurt him to force. She wasn't put at ease like he'd hope.

But as they looked at one another, obviously trying to figure out how to get themselves and everyone else out of the situation alive, Hatter saw something that filled him with fear. One of the Suits had come up behind Leah with a gun raised. Hatter opened his mouth to warn her, but words never emerged.

The crack was sickening. It turned his stomach, a feeling made all the worse when he saw Leah's eyes roll back into her head. She collapsed, landing on the ground hard. Hatter heard Alice call out, but her cries fell on deaf ears. Leah laid on the grassy ground. Through her silvery white hair, Hatter watched as a spot –crimson and bright- pooled beneath her hair. It grew and grew until it was all he saw, like a drop of blood in the snow. They'd hit her so hard.

"Grab the Mystic," Mad March said carelessly as he stowed his gun. "Let's get out of here."

"No!" Hatter shouted as he fought against his Suit. Two move approached Leah. They hooked their arms beneath hers and lifted her. Her head hung limply. "Let her go!"

But no one listened. No one even looked in his direction as they were all led away.

* * *

Her body was heavy and her mind slow to act. She could think clearly, command her arms to move, her legs to lift her, but the connection wasn't there. She knew what she wanted to do, but she couldn't actually make herself do it.

Leah's head bobbed up and down, up and down, and each jostle made a spot throb painfully. She felt the tops of her feet drag against carpet, felt it burn into her skin and knew they either were raw, or would be soon. There was a faint buzz, murmuring or people talking –she wasn't entirely certain.

Without warning, Leah fell and a split second later landed hard on the ground. She'd been dropped, left to crumble because she had no strength to catch herself. Her lip smashed into her teeth. She tasted copper.

Leah tried to push herself up, pressed her hands in the plush surface of the expensive carpet beneath her, but her arms trembled. She couldn't even lift herself onto her knees.

"Well, well, well," A voice cooed. Leah continued to struggle to get herself up. Somehow, she managed to bring her knee under her. It helped her raise, but she was slow to do so. "If it isn't the Mystic…" The voice paused. "Which one had the white hair again?"

Leah continued to attempt to get herself up and eventually managed. She sat on her knees, but she was slumped over. Lifting her head too high caused the wound on the back of it to ache enough that she wanted to vomit. Leah knew she'd been pistol-whipped and could only guess that she had a concussion as a result.

She looked up through her lashes and saw the slightly out-of-focus images of the King, Queen, and the rest of the Court lingering in the background. She turned just enough to see other bodies, people wearing something slick and shiny like lab coats. There was a golden woman and more Suits. To her left, Leah saw a large orb and something inside it. She saw Jack standing with two Suits on either side, very close to her, and behind her, she spotted Hatter. He was close enough she could see something that looked like sadness, maybe guilt. She wasn't coherent enough to tell.

"I'm not certain, dearest." The King said. Leah looked forward once more and saw them staring at her from their spot less than six feet away. "They all began with a C, didn't they?"

"Unusual names, I know that much." The Queen scowled at her. "Cali-something-or-or-other."

"Cordelia," Leah growled hatefully. Her voice was twisted, but she didn't know what by –either rage, or some other intense emotion. "My name is Cordelia, you murderous cow."

People in the background gasped, but she didn't care. Leah stared only at the Queen, who stared only back at her. She expected to hear the red woman bellow her favorite phrase, to command someone to lop Leah's head from her shoulders, but she didn't. Instead, her painted lips curled into a knowing, evil smile.

"Defiant to the end." She mocked in a sing-songy voice. "Your kind never _did_ know when enough was enough, did you? Such a nuisance." She grimaced as she looked over Leah briefly. And then, for whatever reason, she leaned forward. She looked at Leah while she rested her hands on her knees, like someone might when they called for a dog. "You're useful though, aren't you?" She asked in a tone to match. "Yes, you are." The Queen straightened her back again. "Do you know what's going to happen to you, girl? The same thing that happened to your sisters." Leah clenched her jaw so hard it hurt. "We are going to hook you up to a number of machines and they're going to drain every bit of magic from you." Her unnerving smile returned. "Have you ever seen what happens to your kind when the magic's been siphoned away? Ghastly business, really." The Queen stepped closer and made sure she had Leah's eye. Leah was shaking. "You wither away until, _poof!_ " Leah jumped at the suddenness of the sound. "You cease to exist."

The Queen chuckled, seemingly happy with her plan as she returned to the King's side. She was beaming, her smile so wide that Leah could almost count her teeth.

"Take her away." She said with a wave of her hand.

Leah knew she only had a moment to act. Despite how heavy she felt, how badly she ached, Leah knew she had seconds at best to react otherwise it would be too late.

She pushed herself to her feet, and promptly stumbled. People mobilized around her. Someone grabbed her. Leah felt the magic flow through her. She called on everything she could, no matter how much it hurt. She felt the floor tremble beneath her, heard a few people gasp, heard glass or something delicate clinking, and then something stab into her neck.

Before she could unleash whatever chaos she'd been trying to raise, something pierced her neck. It was a needle, a theory given credence when a man –bulbous and round with odd facial hair- stepped away with a spent syringe in his hands. The room instantly began to spin.

"What'd you-" She couldn't get the word out before she stumbled.

Like before, a pair of arms looped beneath hers and held her up as best she could be. Leah was led away. She heard Hatter shouting from behind, but his voice faded into the buzzing that had returned to her ears.

Leah had been drugged, heavily. It wasn't enough for her to pass out, but more than enough to rob her of her ability to fight back. She couldn't focus, couldn't weave her magic. She couldn't even stand.

Every hall looked like the last. Her feet would drag over carpet and then along the painfully hard tile. There were no words to express how much it hurt for skin to drag across tile when there wasn't anything to lubricate it, like soap or water. With her feet already raw from carpet burn, it hurt even more.

The journey didn't end until Leah was surrounded by churning machines. Things beeped, people talked, and there were blinking lights. It was sensory overload and caused her head to ahce more than it already did.

"Oh, wow," Someone said in astonishment. "Is that what I think it is?"

She tried to focus on who was speaking, but she had no luck.

"Yes," The Suit to her right said. "The Queen wants you to drain her. Where should we put it?"

"Over here." The first voice said.

Leah was taken somewhere to the side and then shoved against something hard. She was held in place while her arms, legs, torso and neck were strapped down.

"Stop," She said. In her mind, she screamed in. The sound that met her ears was little more than a grumbled whisper. They didn't listen.

A series of sharp pokes caused her to wince and look down. She was being hooked up to something, wires and tubes. Someone else placed a breathing mask over her head. She jerked from side to side, but she couldn't shake them.

A door was closed and the world was suddenly silent. Leah tried to see, tried to separate the images around her.

There was rushing water.

The air in her breathing mask tasted off.

Nothing.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter X**

The Casino was in utter chaos.

The building shook. It didn't tremble. It didn't quiver. It shook like a Grade-A earthquake was determined to raze it to the ground. It wouldn't have been hard. Some moronic architect built the structure entirely top-heavy.

"We have to go, Alice." Hatter said as he brought her to her feet. "I'm sorry, we have to go."

He pushed her out of the gambling room, but Alice forced him to stop just past the doors.

"Leah," Alice said as she held his arms. "We have to get Leah."

"Shit," He hissed. Hatter looked around at the people running. Some were Oysters, some were cards, and some were the women from the Casino wearing their diamond-patterned dresses. But someone important finally caught his eye. Alice saw the moment. "Come on."

He grabbed her arm and tugged her along. Alice saw a man in a plastic outfit, a lab coat of some kind who was clearly the target. Sure enough, Hatter snatched him and threw him into the nearest wall.

"The Mystic," He said in a rage-filled voice. "Where is she?"

"We have to get out of here." He said in a panicked voice. "The building is-"

Hatter pulled him close then threw him back into the wall harder than before. It rattled the scientist. "Where is she?!" Hatter yelled.

The scientist pointed down the hall with a shaking finger.

"Show us." Alice told him.

It took some prompting, but eventually he managed to get his feet to move, and showed them where Leah was being kept.

"Oh my God," Alice's stomach sank the instant she saw her.

Leah was in a cylindrical tube. She was strapped to the back of it, forced to stand upright. Her wrists, arms, ankles, legs, torso and neck all bore thick straps that kept her in place. There were a number of tubes connected to her exposed skin that were removing something, and a breathing mask over her face. The breathing mask was because she was entirely submerged in some sort of liquid. It wasn't clear, but close, tinged a sickly green which made her look sickly green in return. Her long hair waved effortlessly around her, her shirt fluttered, and the whole thing made Alice's skin prickle.

"We have to get her out of there." She said.

When she looked at Hatter, Alice saw utter horror written across his bloody and bruised face.

A toppling tank in the background shocked them both into the moment. Somehow, they forgot the Casino was crumbling.

They quickly snapped back into reality. Alice searched the controls near the tube that held her one-time friend.

"We need something to move her." Hatter said. "Somethin' to-"

His voice fell off and with a glance up, Alice noticed that he seemed to have found something. It looked like a gurney one would find in any hospital. She had no idea why one would be back there, but assumed that maybe it was used to transport comatose Oysters.

"Come on, Alice." He prompted. "We gotta get her out of there."

"I know!" She snapped.

The controls meant nothing to her. They were buttons and nobs, and none of them were labeled. Alice panicked. She felt lost and, for whatever reason, chose to hit a white round button. She didn't know why. It was no different than any of the others, but she heard a rush of water. Glancing up, Alice saw the tube draining.

It happened in seconds and when the tube was finally empty, the door swung open. Feeling encouraged by the correct guess, Alice chose to flip a narrow red switch. She let out a shout of joy when the straps gave way.

Alice ran forward. Hatter had begun to undo Leah's ankles and legs, while Alice undid her arms and neck. They worked together and quickly until Leah crumbled forward. Hatter let her fall onto his shoulder. He cried out when she had, but he didn't pause. Instead, of lingering on the pain, he spun and dropped her immediately onto the gurney with Alice's help.

"I'll push." She said.

He nodded and grabbed the end near Leah's feet with his good hand. Alice pushed, he pulled and steered, and soon they were racing through the halls of the Casino and out.

* * *

Was it five minutes? Maybe it was closer to ten. Sure. It took ten minutes for the Queen to be reduced to nothing.

As the people cheered around her, Alice handed the ring back to Jack. He cast her a small, heavy smile, and a nod.

"Seize the Queen!" He called out.

A pair of Suits grabbed an arm a piece. The red woman shouted her rage, but she couldn't fight against either of them.

Her shoulders finally relaxed for the first time since she'd arrived in Wonderland. People don't understand just how much tension a person's shoulders hold until they genuinely release it. Alice felt instantly better. For the first time since she'd fallen through the Looking Glass, hell since Jack handed her the ring in her world, she finally relaxed.

"Alice,"

A weak, but increasingly familiar voice said her name. Alice turned and spotted Leah was the source. She'd finally waken up, though it looked like just barely. She was hunched forward, limping toward Alice with a confused and heavy expression.

She looked terrible. Her features were gaunt and the fresh-looking complexion Alice had grown accustomed to seeing from Leah had faded. It was dull and pasty. Alice liked it to someone in the throes of the flu. Whatever those machines had done took their toll on the Mystic.

But Alice was happy to see her up and walking, albeit tenderly. She smiled and rushed forward to hug Leah. Leah returned the sentiment and held her tightly.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Alice said.

"Me too, but…" Leah muttered. Alice drew back just enough to look at her. "Why am I wet again?"

Alice laughed. She couldn't help it and she was grateful for the chance. Leah smiled and in it, Alice could have sworn she saw Randy shining back. She was glad for it.

As they parted completely, they were joined by Hatter. He forced a smile to Leah, but she couldn't seem to manage one of her own. Instead, she looked sad.

"Oh, Hatter," Leah reached forward to touch his face, but quickly stopped herself. She withdrew before she would have made contact with his skin. It wasn't the first time it had happened, but the first time Alice had actually seen it. Odd.

"No worries," Hatter said. "I'm fine."

"Liar." Leah said.

They all shared another small, heavy smile at her remark, but Alice couldn't help but look at the pair. It was her fault. What had happened to them both was her fault. Hatter was still cradling his left arm to his side, his face showed evidence of being severely beaten and it was obvious he was exhausted. Leah fared no better. Alice had seen the giant spot of blood that formed after the Suit pistol-whipped her. She could see the split in her lip from when they'd dropped her on her face in the throne room, and saw how sick she looked now. Even the tops of her feet were immune from injury, red and raw from being dragged everywhere.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Jack suddenly called out. "Would those of you who can, please go home. I need only to Suits and those in charge of the Looking Glass to remain. And those of you from Other World, if you would please remain behind, as well. We're going to be taking you home."

* * *

Leah's body hadn't recovered, though she didn't truly expect it to. It would take some time without the aid of medicine of some kind. Whatever the Queen had done affected her deeply, like she was siphoning out Leah's very soul. In a few ways, she was.

Mystics were made of magic. She and her sisters weren't just the representation of it, they _were_ magic. Wonderland created them. They had no parents. Instead, they'd been born from a tree in the middle of the Sky Forest, appearing like flower buds on a tree in the spring. So long as the magic of Wonderland remained, so would they.

Until the Queen got her hands on them. Whatever torture device the Geeks created to steal their magic hurt. Actually, it was far beyond that. There wasn't a word to express the ache that it created. Leah had no doubt that if she'd remained connected to it, it would have drained her until she too went _poof!_

The thought that her sisters had to suffer through it shattered Leah's heart. How cruel was a person to do that to another living being?

Leah had kept her eye out for Alice, but the woman in blue had been scurried away back to the Looking Glass some time ago. Once Leah and Hatter had been taken off to be mended, Alice decided to help the Oysters. Many of them were afraid. Leah understood why she wanted to help. That was simply who Alice was.

Her head had been fixed, stitches she assumed, and that was about the extent of what any doctor could do for her.

Hatter was gone before she was finished being looked after. He only allowed them to fix his shoulder and give him a makeshift sling. The sound of them popping it back into place was gut-wrenching. She would give him something later to help with it. Cali might have been _the_ healer, but Leah had some skill.

He had gone to her and fumbled over an excuse. She told him to go, that she'd follow behind, and he dashed off. It was adorable, but also made her a bit sad. She didn't know why, but the thought that no one had ever been worried about her like that surged through her mind in that instant.

By the time Leah made it to the Looking Glass chamber, some of the Oyster population had already been dwindled down to roughly half. She looked around and spotted Hatter and Alice quickly. Leah shuffled toward them as best as she could manage. She felt like she was walking with a hundred pounds of weight on her back.

"Are you saying you want me to stay?" Alice asked in an almost hopeful voice.

"Hell no!" Hatter jokingly sang.

Leah cringed. She felt like she'd been punched in the gut. Not in a great long while had she been forced to hear such a huge lie. It made her stomach churn.

"No, uh," he continued on. "I think you should go home."

There it was again, that gut-punch.

Alice shifted on her feet uncomfortably. To Leah, it was clear that she didn't want to go, and Hatter wanted her to stay. But it didn't matter. Alice would leave regardless. She wouldn't abandon Carol.

"Oh, uh, this is yours." Alice threaded the royal purple coat from her shoulders quickly. Hatter attempted to stop her, to suggest she could keep it, but it didn't matter. "You know," Alice said. "You can always visit my world. You might like it."

"Oh, right." Hatter nodded. "We could do… pizza."

Their attempt at carrying on a normal conversation was physically painful to hear. Somehow, the bright white woman had remained invisible to them, so she stepped even closer to draw their attention. If anything, Leah wanted to save them from themselves.

Alice looked at her and her face lit up. "Leah, hey. How are you feeling?" Leah grinned crookedly and arched a brow at her friend. "Right," Alice smiled. "So uh…" she hesitated and then, sadly, Leah saw Alice's shoulders slump. "You're not coming back with me, are you?"

Leah shook her head slowly. "I can't." She said. "There's too much to do here. But hey, you know I'll visit. That is, if you want me to."

Alice's eyes were tinting pink. Leah knew that, despite her smile, Alice was on the verge of tears.

"Yeah," Her voice was soft. "Yeah, I'd like that. Soon, right? Like, in the next few days or something?"

"I'll try." Leah said. "But time moves differently here."

Alice's brows furrowed. "What does-"

Leah didn't give her a chance to finish her question before she lunged forward and hugged her. Leah held her tighter than she had at Charlie's camp. She hugged Alice so tightly that it probably hurt the young woman, but Alice never protested. In fact, she held Leah just as hard.

"I love you, Alice." Leah's voice trembled when she spoke. "I'm so glad I met you."

She felt Alice bury her face in her hair and her fingers curl into her shirt. "I love you too, Randy."

Leah felt like she would cry, and probably would when she was finally alone.

Eventually, they parted.

"Here," Leah reached for her necklace. She pulled it out of her shirt and quickly undid the clasp. She threaded it around Alice's neck and clipped it on. "I want you to have this."

"But, are you sure?"

Alice was apprehensive, which Leah understood. It was her favorite necklace. She'd had it since she first met Alice and had worn it every day since. She knew why Alice might have been unsure, but she simply nodded.

"Of course." She said.

Alice smiled gratefully. She opened her mouth to speak, but was never given a chance. A man in a clear plastic coat stepped forward and whisked her away. He shoved her through the Looking Glass.

And she was gone. It happened so quickly. Alice was there and then Leah had blinked and she was gone.

The tears came.

Leah felt them glide down her cheeks as she stared at the Looking Glass as though Alice would magically emerge. She didn't. Of course she didn't.

"Hey,"

Hatter's soft and warm voice drew Leah's attention. He looked as broken as she felt despite his attempts to smile. She couldn't help herself and, before she could think better of it, Leah hugged him.

He'd been shocked by it, which she understood entirely, but eventually he formed around her as well. Leah did her best not to crush his arm, the one that was pinned to his chest, but she couldn't be certain she hadn't. She had squeezed him rather tightly, after all.

Part of her mind somehow managed to remember Thea's prophecy and she was sure to keep their skin from touching, but she definitely hugged him regardless. She needed the comfort of it, the kindness of it. Hatter seemed to crave the same.

She couldn't say how long they held one another, but eventually they drew back. She saw his eyes had welled with tears. She knew hers had already fallen.

"Randy, Hatter," Jack said as he approached. They shifted to look at him. "Or, is it Cordelia?" He asked her.

"Leah is fine, your Majesty."

"Just Jack." He replied. "I would like to offer both of you a place to stay, to recuperate."

"No, thanks." Hatter replied. "I think I'ma just-"

"Please," Jack said. Hatter had begun backing away, so the monarch spoke quickly to keep him from leaving. "It's the least I can do."

Hatter looked at her as though silently asking if she planned to accept his offer. She did. Leah had nowhere else to go. He seemed to sense as much and reluctantly nodded. Leah accepted as well and while the rest of the Oysters were sent home, Jack led the two of them away.

* * *

Later that night, Hatter found himself wandering the halls of the Hearts Estate. He didn't like it. It wasn't that the building, which was a sprawling manor house, wasn't attractive. It was. It was rather nice, in fact, but that didn't matter. He didn't like it because there were reminders everywhere that he was in the enemy's house.

He didn't like it.

Part of him begged to leave. He wanted to disappear in the middle of the night, vanish into the shadows like he'd never been there, but he didn't. Maybe it was because he knew the Tea Shop wasn't where he belonged anymore. Or, maybe it was because he didn't want to vanish on Leah. They'd been through so much together over the last couple of days that he didn't want to leave her all alone.

As he walked the halls, Hatter spotted something through a window. He'd neared the area close to the outdoor terrace, so the windows were wide to let in a lot of light. As a result, he spotted Leah sitting outside. The double-doors that led to her were open, and Hatter found himself approaching them.

She slowly came into better view. Hatter noticed her sitting on the edge of a small retaining wall that overlooked the back end of the property. She was wearing a robe, blood red in color, which made her skin and hair stand out even more. She was hard to miss.

He walked toward her, feeling a temporary relief from the soft breeze, and was perhaps ten feet away when she seemed to notice she was no longer alone. Leah looked back over her shoulder. Her green eyes practically glowed in the dim light of the very-full moon. He paused.

"Can't sleep?" She asked him softly.

"Nah," He shook his head. "Mind if I join you?"

She shook her head before her gaze drifted back to the yard. Hatter closed the distance between them and took a seat on the wall near her. They sat in silence for a moment or two before Leah finally spoke.

"You want to go after her, don't you?" She asked.

"Pft," He scoffed. She saw him smile at her from the corner of her eye so she gave him her full attention. "Ya jokin'? Of course not." Leah cocked a brow and simply stared at him. Slowly, but surely, his smile faltered and Hatter flinched. "Right," he mumbled. "Truth Seer." His head fell and she saw him pick at his fingers. He wasn't wearing the sling anymore, but she knew his arm was sore. "Yeah," he said in the same quiet voice. "Yeah, I do."

"Then why don't you?"

He looked up at her with what could only be described as a sad puppy dog face.

"She don't want someone like me."

It broke her heart that he thought that was true.

"Hatter," Leah said softly. "I've known Alice since she was ten years old. I've been at her side through a dozen boyfriends, and a dozen breakups. I know how she acts when she cares about someone. And she cares about you." She saw him light up just a bit. "You should go after her."

"Yeah?" He sounded hopeful and it made her stomach sink.

"Yeah," Leah nodded. "Tomorrow, I'll speak to Jack. Alright?"

He smiled at her, flashing his dimples when he had. It caused her to do the same.

In the morning, she'd do just as she said and talk to Jack about letting Hatter and her both through the Looking Glass. Leah wanted to make sure that Alice made it home alright. The fact that Hatter missed her and regretted not going along with Alice simply gave Leah the excuse.

Leah's gaze drifted back to the lawn in front of her. She was envious of Alice and Hatter. She saw the way they looked at one another, and sensed the truth whenever they wanted to pretend otherwise. It made her jealous because no one had ever looked at Leah that way.

And while she knew who Hatter was to her, Thea's prophecy ringing in her mind, she had no intentions of doing anything about it.

 _The instant you see him, you'll know. And when you touch him, it will all be over._

At first, she avoided Hatter just to prove her sister wrong. The longer she spent in Hatter and Alice's company, the more she saw. By the time Alice stepped through the Looking Glass, Leah knew for certain that Hatter didn't belong to her. She had no right to claim him, even if he was the one her sister's saw. He wanted Alice, and Leah wanted Alice to be happy.

* * *

The following day, Hatter's world spun when he stepped through the mirror and into Other World. He doubled over, breathing heavily while he genuinely struggled not to vomit.

"It's alright," A vaguely familiar voice said. Hatter rolled his head and spotted Miranda standing beside him, the woman he'd met in his Tea Shop both in appearance and her voice. She smiled at him, and he fought the scowl. It wasn't right. She wasn't real. "Just breathe."

"Easy for you to say." He mumbled.

He did his best to get himself under control. When he did, he stood upright once more and noticed Randy was leaning over a sleeping figure. It was Alice. Hatter's heart sped up. He felt like it'd burst.

"She alright?" He asked.

"She's fine." Randy replied. "Oysters don't handle the trip well. She'll probably be asleep for a while."

"So, what do we do now?"

"Stay here with her. I need to tell Carol."

"Carol?"

"Her mom. It's not like I have my cell phone or anything." She offered a weak smile. "Their place is pretty close, but it'll take me a few minutes to get there. We'll call an ambulance and get Alice to the hospital to make sure she's okay."

Hatter nodded. He didn't really know what else to do. "Yeah, okay."

"I'll be back." Randy stood and took a few steps away before she paused and turned around. "You might want to think up a name, or something."

"What?"

"Can't really call you Hatter."

"Why not?"

"It's not a name here." She said, smiling lightly again. "Cops ask questions."

"Cops?"

"Uh… law enforcement." She explained. "They'll want to know who you are, why you're here. We can um," He watched her think over something quickly. She spotted the rundown building they were in and it seemed to don on her. "We'll say you're a construction worker and you saw her run into the building. Okay?" She started walking away while still facing him. "I'll be right back."

Hatter nodded. Randy promptly turned and jogged off into the distance. He could hear the sound of her bare feet clapping against the concrete, narrating her steps as she disappeared.

Left alone, Hatter looked down at Alice. It might have only been twelve or so hours since he'd seen her, it felt like longer. He was glad Jack let him and Leah through the Looking Glass. Part of him thought the prince allowed it so that he too was able to know that Alice made it home okay. Even if that _was_ the reason, he didn't care. He still got to see her.

Maybe ten minutes later, the once completely silent building was a flurry of movement. Flashlights and people talking, a hundred clomping footsteps and all, came charging toward him and Alice. He saw people in uniforms who pushed him out of the way. There were people wearing blue, some people wearing guns on their hips.

His only solace was Randy. She'd guided the people there and stood off to the side with him while people swarmed over Alice and loaded her onto a bright yellow board. He almost reached out to hold Randy's hand, to use her like an anchor while he was surrounded by Oysters in an unfamiliar world, but he didn't. He just stood there watching.

The people Randy had called EMTs lifted Alice and carried her away. The ones called cops ushered him and Randy out of the building so they could speak. They started questioning the pair separately. Randy spoke easily, the lies rolling easily from her tongue. His weren't as quick to come at first, but once the shock of the whole situation had faded well enough, Hatter managed the same.

Another ten minutes passed before they all vanished in giant things with flashing lights. He didn't know what they were, but since Randy wasn't worried, he assumed it was alright.

A woman approached them both. She had short hair and a combination of fear and gratitude on her face.

"Oh, Randy, thank you." She threw her arms over Miranda's shoulders and hugged her tightly. "Ugh, I don't know how you haven't ripped out your hair by now. I swear," They parted. "Alice is going to make me go bald."

Randy smiled and laughed a little. "Come on, what are best friend's for?"

She smiled before her eye fell to Hatter. He forced a smile of his own, but she only stared at him sternly.

"Carol, this is the guy who helped me find her."

Her expression immediately calmed. "Oh," She chimed. "Oh, that's good." She took his hand and shook it. "Thank you so much,"

"No problem." He replied as he shook her hand. "I was glad to help."

"Well, I'm Carol. You are?"

He tried to remember what he'd told the cops. "David," He said quickly. "I'm David."

"Well, thank you, David. Truly."

He gave her a nod and was glad she let go of his hand. His fingers tingled. She had a hell of a grip.

"I'm going to go to the hospital." Carol said to Randy. "Are you going to come, too?"

"Not just yet." She said. Hatter noticed Carol's confusion. "But I'll be around tomorrow. I have to open in the morning, four AM."

Hatter cringed at the lie. It made his skin crawl and he didn't know why. Why did her lies bother him?

"Oh, Lord," Carol gasped.

"Yeah," Randy laughed lightly. "But call me if there's news, okay?"

"Of course." Carol reached forward and hugged her again. When they parted, she looked at Hatter. "Thank you, again. We'll have to have you over for lunch or something." She began to walk away. "Give Randy your number. We'll arrange it."

And just like that, she was gone.

Hatter turned and looked at Randy with his eyes wide and brows lifted in surprise. He wasn't sure how to comprehend the whole ordeal.

"She seems… nice." He said finally.

Randy laughed, genuinely and truly for the first time since he'd met her. It caused him to smile, too.

"Yeah. Carol's a force of nature, but she'd a good woman."

Hatter nodded. He wasn't sure what else to do.

A few minutes of silence pass between them. He knew he had to go back, to go through the Looking Glass again, but his feet didn't want to move at first. It wasn't until he felt a tug on his jacket sleeve that he seemed to snap back into the moment.

"Come on," Randy said heavily. When she smiled again, it was weighed down, far less happy than those previous.

"Yeah," He nodded.

Reluctantly, Hatter followed her back into the building and through the mirror.


End file.
